Claims, Federal Court of
CLAIMS, FEDERAL COURT OF
CLAIMS, FEDERAL COURT OF, created by Congress in 1855 under its power to appropriate money to pay the debts of the United States. The court investigated contractual claims against the United States brought before the court by private parties or referred to it by an executive department or by Congress. In 1982, the United States Court of Federal Claims was recreated by the Federal Courts Improvement Act. It retained all the original jurisdiction of the Court of Claims, with the addition of bid protests, vaccine compensation, civil liberties, product liability, and oil spills. Approximately one-quarter of the cases before the court involve tax refund suits.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barrow, Deborah J., Gerard S. Gryski, and Gary Zuk. The Federal Judiciary and Institutional Change. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996.
Henderson, Dwight F. Courts for a New Nation. Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs Press, 1971.
Wheeler, Russell R. Creating the Federal Judicial System. Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center, 1994.
P. OrmanRay
HonorSachs
See alsoConstitution of the United States ; Federal Agencies .