What are the Responsibilities and Authority of the Court of Federal Claims?
Dennis AuBuchon
February 08, 2011
The United States Court of Claims was created in reference to Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution in October, 1982 by the Federal Courts Improvement Act. It consists of sixteen (16) judges nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a term of fifteen years. The court is authorized to hear primarily money claims founded upon the Constitution, federal statutes, executive regulations, or contracts, express or implied-in-fact, with the United States.
The basic role of the United States Court of Federal Claims is related to the fundamental principle of the U.S. Constitution that individuals have rights against the government. The origin of the court can be traced directly back to 1855 when Congress established the United States Court of Claims. The legislation creating the court was signed into law on February 24, 1855 by Franklin Pierce. This is the one court in our court system where the government is the defendant, an unusual situation. As a result of this premise this court has been designated the "keeper of the nation´s conscience" and "the people´s Court."
Originally this court in the beginning lacked judicial power to render final judgments which was corrected by legislation passed in 1866. This action was in response President Lincoln´s annual message to Congress where he stated "It is as much the duty of Government to render prompt justice against itself, in favor of citizens, as it is to administer the same between private individuals."
Over time the jurisdiction of the court has been expanded not the least of which was the Tucker Act. This act may not be familiar to many but it increased the authority of the court significantly. The general jurisdiction of the court, described in 28 U.S.C 1491 is over claims for just compensation for the taking of private property, refund of federal taxes, military and civilian pay allowances, and damages for breaches of contracts with the government. The court also handles claims for copyright infringement and claims for patent. Additional jurisdiction topics have been added over time.
As you can see from the details and some of the history of this court it plays a significant role in suits brought against the government. It is one of the oldest Federal Courts in the nation. More information about this court, its history and the current jurisdiction it has can be found on it website www.uscfc.uscourts.gov.
The basic role of the United States Court of Federal Claims is related to the fundamental principle of the U.S. Constitution that individuals have rights against the government. The origin of the court can be traced directly back to 1855 when Congress established the United States Court of Claims. The legislation creating the court was signed into law on February 24, 1855 by Franklin Pierce. This is the one court in our court system where the government is the defendant, an unusual situation. As a result of this premise this court has been designated the "keeper of the nation´s conscience" and "the people´s Court."
Originally this court in the beginning lacked judicial power to render final judgments which was corrected by legislation passed in 1866. This action was in response President Lincoln´s annual message to Congress where he stated "It is as much the duty of Government to render prompt justice against itself, in favor of citizens, as it is to administer the same between private individuals."
Over time the jurisdiction of the court has been expanded not the least of which was the Tucker Act. This act may not be familiar to many but it increased the authority of the court significantly. The general jurisdiction of the court, described in 28 U.S.C 1491 is over claims for just compensation for the taking of private property, refund of federal taxes, military and civilian pay allowances, and damages for breaches of contracts with the government. The court also handles claims for copyright infringement and claims for patent. Additional jurisdiction topics have been added over time.
As you can see from the details and some of the history of this court it plays a significant role in suits brought against the government. It is one of the oldest Federal Courts in the nation. More information about this court, its history and the current jurisdiction it has can be found on it website www.uscfc.uscourts.gov.
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