The authority for claims presented or processed under this subpart is set forth in the following federal laws and bi- or multinational agreements:

(a) 10 U.S.C. 2734a and 10 U.S.C. 2734b (the International Agreements Claims Act) as amended, for claims arising overseas under international agreements.

(b) Various international agreements, such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and the Partnership for Peace (PFP) SOFA.

Current listings of known agreements in force are also posted on the USARCS Web site; for the address see § 536.2(a).

(a) The Commander USARCS is responsible for:

(1) Providing policy guidance to command claims services or other responsible judge advocate (JA) offices on SOFA or other treaty reimbursement programs implementing 10 U.S.C. 2734a and 2734b.

(2) Monitoring the reimbursement system to ensure that programs for the proper verification and certification of reimbursement are in place.

(3) Monitoring funds reimbursed to or by foreign governments.

(b) Responsibilities in the continental United States (CONUS). The responsibility for implementing these agreements within the United States has been delegated to the Secretary of the Army (SA). The SA, in turn, has delegated that responsibility to the Commander USARCS, who is in charge of the receiving State office for the United States, as prescribed in DODD 5515.8. The Commander USARCS is responsible for maintaining direct liaison with sending State representatives and establishing procedures designed to carry out the provisions of this subpart.

(a) Force and civilian component of force. Members of the sending State's armed forces on temporary or permanent official duty within the receiving State, civilian employees of the sending State's armed forces, and those individuals acting in an official capacity for the sending State's armed forces. However, under provisions of the applicable SOFAs the sending State and the receiving State may agree to exclude from the definition of “force” certain individuals, units or formations that would otherwise be covered by the SOFA. Where such an exclusion has been created, this subpart will not apply to claims arising from actions or omission by those individuals, units or formations. “Force and civilian component of force” also includes claims arising out of acts or omissions made by military or civilian personnel, regardless of nationality, who are assigned or attached to, or employed by, an international headquarters established under the provisions of the Protocol on the Status of International Military Headquarters Set Up Pursuant to the North Atlantic Treaty, dated August 28, 1952, such as Supreme Allied Command, Atlantic.

(b) Types of claims under agreements—(1) Intergovernmental claims. Claims of one contracting party against any other contracting party for damage to property owned by its armed services, or for injury or death suffered by a member of the armed services engaged in the performance of official duties, are waived. Claims above a minimal amount for damage to property owned by a governmental entity other than the armed services may be asserted. NATO SOFA, Article VIII, paragraph 1-4; Singapore SOFA, Article XVI, paragraph 2-3.

(2) Third-party scope claims. Claims arising out of any acts or omissions of members of a force or the civilian component of a sending State done in the performance of official duty or any other act, omission, or occurrence for which the sending State is legally responsible shall be filed, considered and settled in accordance with the laws and regulations of the receiving State with respect to claims arising from the activities of its own armed service; see, for example, NATO SOFA, Article VIII, paragraph 5.

(3) Ex gratia claims. Claims arising out of tortious acts or omissions not done in the performance of official duties shall be considered by the sending State for an “ex gratia” payment that is made directly to the injured party; see, for example, NATO SOFA, Article VIII, paragraph 6.

This section sets forth procedures and responsibilities for the investigation, processing, and settlement of claims arising out of any acts or omissions of members of a foreign military force or civilian component present in the United States or a territory, commonwealth, or possession thereof under the provisions of cost sharing reciprocal international agreements which contain claims settlement provisions applicable to claims arising in the United States. Article VIII of the NATO SOFA has reciprocal provisions applying to all NATO member countries; the Partnership for Peace (PFP) Agreement has similiar provisions, as do the Singapore and Australian SOFAs.

(a) Within the United States, Art. VIII, NATO SOFA applies to claims arising within the North Atlantic Treaty Area, which includes CONUS and its territories and possessions north of the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees north latitude). This excludes Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and parts of Hawaii. Third-party scope claims are payable under subpart D or, if the claim arises incident to noncombat activities, under subpart C of this part. Maritime claims are payable under subpart H of this part. The provisions of these subparts on what claims are payable apply equally here. The members of the foreign force or civilian component must be acting in pursuance of the applicable treaty's objectives.

(b) Within the United States, third-party ex gratia claims are payable only by the sending State and are not payable under subpart E of this part.

The following claims are not payable:

(a) Claims arising from a member of a foreign force or civilian component's acts or omissions that do not accord with the objectives of a treaty authorizing their presence in the United States.

(b) Claims arising from the acts or omissions of a member of a foreign force or civilian component who has been excluded from SOFA coverage by agreement between the sending State and the United States.

(c) Third-party scope claims arising within the United States that are not payable under subparts C, D, or H of this part are listed as barred under those subparts. As sending State forces are considered assimilated into the U.S. Armed Services for purposes of the SOFAs, their members are also barred from receiving compensation from the United States when they are injured incident to their service, Daberkow v. United States, 581 F.2d 785 (9th Cir. 1978).

To enable USARCS to properly discharge its claims responsibilities under the applicable SOFAs, it must be notified of all incidents, including off-duty incidents, in which members of a foreign military force or civilian component are involved. Any member or employee of the U.S. armed services who learns of an incident involving a member of a foreign military force or civilian component resulting in personal injury, death, or property damage will immediately notify the judge advocate (JA) or legal officer at the installation or activity to which such person is assigned or attached. The JA or legal officer receiving such notification will in turn notify the Commander USARCS. If the member is neither assigned nor attached to any installation or activity within the United States, the Commander USARCS, will be notified.

Responsibility for investigating an incident rests upon the area claims office (ACO) or claims processing office (CPO) responsible for the geographic area in which the incident occurred. The Commander USARCS, an ACO, and a CPO are authorized to designate the legal office of the installation at which the member of the foreign force or civilian component is attached, including the legal office of another armed force, to carry out the responsibility to investigate. The investigation will comply with the responsible Service's implementing claims regulation. When the member is neither assigned nor attached within the United States, the Commander USARCS will furnish assistance.

Settlement authority is delegated to the Commander USARCS, except for settlement amounts exceeding the Commander's authority as set forth in subparts C, D, or H of this part, or in those cases where settlement is reserved to a higher authority. Pursuant to the applicable SOFA, the Commander USARCS will report the proposed settlement to the sending State office for concurrence or objection. See, for example, NATO SOFA, Article VIII.

As claims arising from activities of members of NATO, Partnership for Peace, Singaporean, or Australian forces in the United States are processed in the same manner as those arising from activities of U.S. government personnel. All JAs and legal offices will provide assistance similar to that provided to U.S. armed services personnel.

(a) This section sets forth guidance on claims arising from any act or omission of soldiers or members of the civilian component of the U.S. armed services done in the performance of official duty or arising from any other act or omission or occurrence for which the U.S. armed services are responsible under an international agreement. Claims incidents arising in countries for which the SOFA requires the receiving State to adjudicate and pay the claims in accordance with its laws and regulations are subject to partial reimbursement by the United States.

(b) Claims by foreign inhabitants based on acts or omissions outside the scope of official duties are cognizable under subpart J of this part. Claims arising from nonscope acts or omissions by third parties who are not foreign inhabitants are cognizable under subpart E but not under subparts C or F of this part.

(a) SOFA provisions that call for the receiving State to adjudicate claims have been held to be the exclusive remedy for claims against the United States, Aaskov v. Aldridge, 695 F. Supp. 595 (D.D.C. 1988); Dancy v. Department of the Army, 897 F. Supp. 612 (D.D.C. 1995).

(b) SOFA provisions that call for the receiving State to adjudicate claims against the United States usually refer to claims by third parties brought against members of the force or civilian component. This includes claims by tourists or business travelers as well as inhabitants of foreign countries. Depending on how the receiving State interprets the particular SOFA's class of proper claimants, the receiving State may also consider claims by U.S. soldiers, civilian employees, and their family members. Chiefs of command claims services or other Army JA offices responsible for claims that arise in countries bound by SOFA or other treaty provisions requiring a receiving State to consider claims against the United States will ensure that all claims personnel know the receiving State's policy on which persons or classes of persons are proper claimants under such provisions. When a claim is filed both with the receiving State and under either the Military Claims Act (MCA) or Foreign Claims Act (FCA), the provisions of § 536.76(h) of this part and DA Pam 27-162, paragraph 3-4a apply.

(c) When SOFA provisions provide for receiving state claims consideration, the time limit for filing such claims may be much shorter than the two years otherwise allowed under the FCA or MCA. For example, receiving state claims offices in Germany require that a claim be filed under the SOFA within three months of the date that the claimant is aware of the U.S. involvement. If the filing period is about to expire for claims arising in Germany, have the claimant fill out a claim form, make two copies, and date-stamp each copy as received by the a sending State claims office. Return the date-stamped original of the claim to the claimant with instructions to promptly file with the receiving State claims office. Keep one date-stamped copy as a potential claim. Forward one date-stamped copy of the claim to the U.S. Army Claims Service Europe (USACSEUR). This may toll the applicable German statute of limitations. Additionally, many receiving state claims offices do not require claimants to demand a sum certain. All claims personnel must familiarize themselves with the applicable receiving state law and procedures governing SOFA claims.

(d) All foreign inhabitants who file claims against the United States that fall within the receiving State's responsibility, such as claims based on acts or omissions within the scope of U.S. Armed Forces members' or civilian employees' duties, must file the claim with the appropriate receiving State office. Those U.S. inhabitants whose claims would be otherwise cognizable under the Military Claims Act (subpart C of this part) and whom the receiving State deems proper claimants under the SOFA must also file with the receiving State.

(e) A claim filed with, and considered by, a receiving State under a SOFA or other international agreement claims provision may be considered under other subparts of this part only if the receiving State denied the claim on the basis that it was not cognizable under the treaty or agreement provisions. See DA Pam 27-162, paragraph 3-4a(2), for conditions of waiver of the foregoing requirement. See also §§ 536.76(h) and 536.138(j) of this part. When a claimant has filed a claim with a receiving State and received payment, or the claim has been denied on the merits, such action will be the claimant's final and exclusive remedy and will bar any further claims against the United States.

(a) Command claims services or other responsible JA offices within whose jurisdiction SOFA or other treaty provisions provide for a claim reimbursement system, and where DA has been assigned single-service responsibility for the foreign country seeking reimbursement (see § 536.17) are responsible for:

(1) Establishing programs for verifying, certifying, and reimbursing claims payments. Such service or JA office will provide a copy of its procedures implementing the program to the Commander USARCS.

(2) Providing the Commander USARCS with budget estimates for reimbursements in addition to the reports required by AR 27-20, paragraph 13-7.

(3) Providing the Commander USARCS each month in which payments are made, with statistical information on the number of individual claims reimbursed, the total amount paid by the foreign government, and the total amount reimbursed by the United States.

(4) Providing the Commander USARCS with a quarterly report showing total reimbursements paid during the quarter for maneuver damage and tort claims classified according to major categories of damage determined by the Commander USARCS, and an update on major issues or activities that could affect the reimbursement system's operation or funding.

(b) Command claims services or other responsible Army JA offices will ensure that all claims personnel within their areas of responsibility:

(1) Receive annual training on the receiving State's claims procedures, including applicable time limitations, procedures and the responsible receiving State claims offices' locations.

(2) Screen all new claims and inquiries about claims to identify those claimants who must file with the receiving State.

(3) Ensure that all such claimants are informed of this requirement and the applicable time limitation.

(4) Ensure that all applicable SOFA claims based on incidents occurring in circumstances that bring them within the United States' primary sending State jurisdiction are fully investigated.