Foreign Claims (Hungary) Settlement Regulations

Regulations Respecting the Determination and Payment out of the Foreign Claims Fund of Certain Claims Against the Government of the Hungarian People’s Republic and its Citizens His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Secretary of State for External Affairs and the Minister of Finance, pursuant to Vote Item 22a in Schedule B of Appropriation Act No. 9, 1966, is pleased hereby to make the annexed Regulations respecting the determination and payment out of the Foreign Claims Fund of certain claims against the Government of the Hungarian People’s Republic and its citizens. These Regulations may be cited as the Foreign Claims (Hungary) Settlement Regulations. In these Regulations, Agreement means the Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Hungarian People’s Republic relating to the Settlement of Financial Matters, signed at Budapest, June 1, 1970; (Accord) Canadian citizen has the same meaning as in Article III of the Agreement; (citoyen canadien) Chief Commissioner means the Chief Commissioner of the Commission; (commissaire en chef) claim means a claim by a Canadian citizen or the Canadian Government against the Government of the Hungarian People’s Republic or against a Hungarian citizen in respect of any of the following matters: property, rights and interests, whether legally or beneficially owned, including debts, other than bonded debts, affected directly or indirectly by Hungarian measures of nationalization, expropriation, state administration of other similar measures arising out of structural changes in the Hungarian economy and regulations made or administrative action taken thereunder that have taken in effect before the date of the Agreement; debts arising out of contracts of insurance concluded on or before December 7, 1941, that are due from Hungarian citizens; shares in Hungarian banking companies affected by the Hungarian Law No. XXX of December 1, 1947, being shares that, from the date of that Law to the date of the Agreement, have been continuously owned by Canadian citizens; obligations arising out of Articles 24 and 26 of the Treaty of Peace with Hungary of February 10, 1947; and obligations arising out of Articles 231 and 232 of the Treaty of Trianon of June 4, 1920; (réclamation) Commission means the Foreign Claims Commission established by Order in Council P.C. 1970-2077 of 8th December, 1970; (Commission) Fund means the special account known as the Foreign Claims Fund established in the Consolidated Revenue Fund by the Minister of Finance pursuant to Vote 22a of Appropriation Act No. 9, 1966; (Caisse) Hungarian citizen has the same meaning as in Article III of the Agreement; and (citoyen hongrois) Minister means the Secretary of State for External Affairs. (Ministre) No claim of which notice has not been given on or before March 31, 1971 shall be considered by the Commission. Every notice of a claim given to the Government of Canada on or before March 31, 1971 shall, for the purposes of subsection (1), be deemed to have been given to the Commission and shall be referred by the Minister to the Commission. Where a claimant who has given notice of his claim dies before his claim has been determined by the Commission, and the claimant is survived by a person who, in the opinion of the Commission, may be lawfully entitled to an award in respect of that claimant’s claim, the Commission may proceed with and determine that claimant’s claim in the same manner as if he had not died. All documentary evidence and written representations on which a claimant intends to rely in establishing his claim shall be submitted to the Commission on or before March 31, 1975. No award shall be paid to or in respect of any claimant who was not a Canadian citizen at the time notice of his claim was given. Where a claimant who gave notice of his claim on or before June 1, 1970, dies, an award may be paid to any person lawfully entitled thereto irrespective of his nationality. Where a claimant who gave notice of his claim after June 1, 1970 dies, no award shall be paid in respect of that claimant’s claim to an person who was not a Canadian citizen at the time notice of the claim was given. Where a claimant has been paid or, in the opinion of the Commission, is likely to be paid any compensation in respect of his claim from any source other than the Fund, the Commission shall deduct the amount of that compensation from the amount of an award it recommends be paid to that claimant out of the Fund. Where a claimant by reason of his own neglect or default has failed to receive, has forfeited his right to receive or has lost his eligibility to receive, any compensation in respect of his claim from a source other than the Fund, he shall for the purposes of these Regulations, be deemed to have been paid that compensation. The failure of a claimant who knew or ought to have known that if he did not apply on or before a fixed date, he would lose his right or eligibility to receive compensation from a source other than the Fund shall be deemed, for the purposes of subsection (2), to be neglect by that claimant. The Chief Commissioner may, in addition to the amount of an award recommended by him, recommend payment of an amount equal to one-third of such award in lieu of accrued interest on the award; and fifty dollars, or ten per cent of such award, whichever is the lesser, as reimbursement for expenses necessarily incurred in establishing the claim. The Chief Commissioner shall report to the Minister and the Minister of Finance on each claim considered by the Commission stating whether the claimant is eligible to receive an award; the amount of any award that, in the opinion of the Commission, should be made to a claimant; and the particular paragraph in the definition of claim in section 2 under which the claim arises. The Chief Commissioner may make a report on any claim on the basis of the information then available to the Commission where, in his opinion, postponement of his report in respect of the claim until such time as the Commission is able to assess, with reasonable certainty, the possibility of recovery of compensation from a source other than the Fund would result in undue delay. On receipt of a report from the Chief Commissioner, the Minister and the Minister of Finance shall determine the amount of any award recommended by the Chief Commissioner that is to be paid out of the Fund in respect of a claim; and if the claimant is dead, the person, if any, to whom payment of the award is to be made. No right to an award is conferred by any recommendation made by the Chief Commissioner to the Minister and the Minister of Finance. Awards in respect of claims arising under paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (e) of the definition of claim in section 2 shall be paid out of that part of the Fund consisting of moneys credited to the Fund pursuant to paragraph (b) of Vote 22a of Appropriation Act No. 9, 1966 and any interest accredited to the Fund in respect of those moneys; and paragraph (d) of the definition of claim in section 2 shall be paid out of that part of the Fund consisting of moneys credited to the Fund pursuant to paragraph (a) of Vote 22a of Appropriation Act No. 9, 1966 and any interest credited to other Fund in respect of those moneys. Where the moneys in any part of the Fund described in section 9 are insufficient to pay in full all awards that the Minister and the Minister of Finance determine may to paid out of that part, the amount of any award payable to a claimant who has been paid or in the opinion of the Commission is likely to be paid compensation from any source other than the Fund, or who is deemed pursuant to subsection 5(2) to have been so paid, shall be reduced by the amount of that compensation; equal payments shall be made in respect of all awards up to the full amount or of one thousand dollars, whichever is the lesser; and the balances of awards not paid in full shall be paid on a pro rata basis from any moneys remaining in that part of the Fund. Notwithstanding subsection (1), no payment of an amount recommended by the Chief Commissioner pursuant to section 6 shall be paid out of a part of the Fund described in section 9 until the awards that may be paid out of that part of the Fund have been paid in full. Awards may be paid in one or more instalments at such times as in the opinion of the Minister and the Minister of Finance may be warranted having regard to the amounts available in the part of the Fund out of which awards of a similar kind may be paid; and the possible amounts that may be awarded in respect of claims still before the Commission. Before making payment of an award, the Minister of Finance shall obtain a release in such form as he considers satisfactory in respect of the claim for which payment is to be made. In consideration of making an award the Minister of Finance shall obtain all documents of title which are available in respect of the claim for which payment is to be made. The Minister of finance may require that any claimant assign to Her Majesty in right of Canada his entitlement to compensation from a source other than the Fund, or if such entitlement cannot be validly assigned, an undertaking by the claimant to do all things necessary to vest such amounts and his rights thereto in Her Majesty. In the event of the absence or incapacity of the Chief Commissioner or if the office of the Chief Commissioner is vacant, the Deputy Chief Commission may perform all the duties and functions of the Chief Commissioner under these Regulations. In the event of the absence, incapacity or disqualification of any two Commissioners, the remaining Commissioner may perform all the duties and functions of the Commission under these Regulations.