§ 2734.
Property loss; personal injury or death: incident to noncombat activities of the armed forces; foreign countries
(a)
To promote and to maintain friendly relations through the prompt settlement of meritorious claims, the Secretary concerned, or an officer or employee designated by the Secretary, may appoint, under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, one or more claims commissions, each composed of one or more officers or employees or combination of officers or employees of the armed forces, to settle and pay in an amount not more than $100,000, a claim against the United States for—
(1)
damage to, or loss of, real property of any foreign country or of any political subdivision or inhabitant of a foreign country, including damage or loss incident to use and occupancy;
(2)
damage to, or loss of, personal property of any foreign country or of any political subdivision or inhabitant of a foreign country, including property bailed to the United States; or
(3)
personal injury to, or death of, any inhabitant of a foreign country;
if the damage, loss, personal injury, or death occurs outside the United States, or the Commonwealths or possessions, and is caused by, or is otherwise incident to noncombat activities of, the armed forces under his jurisdiction, or is caused by a member thereof or by a civilian employee of the military department concerned or the Coast Guard, as the case may be. The claim of an insured, but not that of a subrogee, may be considered under this subsection. In this section, “foreign country” includes any place under the jurisdiction of the United States in a foreign country. An officer or employee may serve on a claims commission under the jurisdiction of another armed force only with the consent of the Secretary of his department, or his designee, but shall perform his duties under regulations of the department appointing the commission.
(b)
A claim may be allowed under subsection (a) only if—
(1)
it is presented within two years after it accrues;
(3)
it did not arise from action by an enemy or result directly or indirectly from an act of the armed forces of the United States in combat, except that a claim may be allowed if it arises from an accident or malfunction incident to the operation of an aircraft of the armed forces of the United States, including its airborne ordnance, indirectly related to combat, and occurring while preparing for, going to, or returning from a combat mission.
([Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041], [70A Stat. 154]; [Pub. L. 85–861, § 1(55)], Sept. 2, 1958, [72 Stat. 1461]; [Pub. L. 86–223, § 1(1)], Sept. 1, 1959, [73 Stat. 453]; [Pub. L. 86–411], Apr. 8, 1960, [74 Stat. 16]; [Pub. L. 90–521], §§ 1, 3, Sept. 26, 1968, [82 Stat. 874]; [Pub. L. 91–312, § 1], July 8, 1970, [84 Stat. 412]; [Pub. L. 93–336, § 2], July 8, 1974, [88 Stat. 292]; [Pub. L. 96–513, title V, § 511(95)], Dec. 12, 1980, [94 Stat. 2928]; [Pub. L. 98–564, § 2], Oct. 30, 1984, [98 Stat. 2918]; [Pub. L. 101–510, div. A, title XIV, § 1481(j)(4)(A)], Nov. 5, 1990, [104 Stat. 1709]; [Pub. L. 104–316, title II, § 202(e)], Oct. 19, 1996, [110 Stat. 3842]; [Pub. L. 107–296, title XVII, § 1704(b)(1)], Nov. 25, 2002, [116 Stat. 2314]; [Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title X, § 1057(a)(5)], Jan. 6, 2006, [119 Stat. 3440].)