© 1999 by Oxford University Press
The United Nations Compensation Commission: A new contribution to the process of international claims resolution
Villa la Pelouse, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
The United Nations Compensation Commission is one of the many bodies that have over recent years contributed to the proliferation of claims resolution and dispute settlement facilities. The Commission has been set up by the UN Security Council to process claims and pay compensation for direct losses resulting from Iraq's 1990 invasion and subsequent occupation of Kuwait. While the Commission is in many respects in the tradition of international claims practice, there are other features that make it a novel and unprecedented scheme. In particular, the UNCC represents the first attempt of the international community to organize a claims resolution process through a multilateral facility within the UN system. In addition, the large number of claims, the size and variety of the losses and damages and the complexity of the process have required an organization and procedures that have developed modern international claims practice further, especially with respect to the methods and techniques used for the processing of the claims. This article focuses on these procedural aspects of the Commission's work and on the issues and challenges that are facing the Commission and that others may face in the future.