NGOs under European Convention on Human Rights / Tymofeyeva

The International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (hereinafter referred to as the ‘ICHEIC’) was established in 1998 on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding. 1347 This was a result of negotiations among European insurance companies and U.S. insurance regulators, as well as representatives of international Jewish organizations and the State of Israel. The ICHEIC was charged with establishing a just process to collect and facilitate the signatory companies’ processing of insurance claims from the Holocaust period. It resolved more than 90,000 claims for a total amount of USD 306 million and awarded the compensation to more than 48,000 Holocaust victims and their heirs. 1348 The ICHEIC ceased accepting new claims in 2004 and, as of December 2006, all timely, filed claims received a final decision. 1349 In addition, the IOM was also responsible for the Holocaust Victims Assets Programme/Swiss Banks (hereinafter referred to as the ‘HVAP’). It was established at the request of the Swiss Banks Settlement Fund. The HVAP’s purpose was to process and pay the claims of Holocaust survivors who were members of certain target groups and were not recognised in other reparations programmes. USD 1.25 billion was assigned to the program. The HVAP was also completed in 2006 and the IOM can no longer accept claims, issue cheques or make new payments to beneficiaries. 1350 The Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Accounts in Switzerland 1351 may serve as an additional example of a compensation mechanism of mixed character. 1352 This tribunal was established on June 25, 1997 to resolve claims to the accounts published in July and October 1997. 1353 It is instituted under Swiss law. 1354 Each of the mechanisms described in this section served the purpose of solving a concrete problem, and may not be considered as global human rights violations compensation bodies. At the same time, they possess funds or exact budgets for the fulfilment of claims and satisfy the claims within the limits of their sources, but they do not possess special execution departments. The next section of the current chapter will focus on the compensation mechanism under the Convention. Special attention will be paid to the claims of Article 34 NGOs. accessed 20 July 2015. 1347 Memorandum of Understanding. URL: accessed 20 July 2015. 1348 See URL: accessed 20 July 2015. 1349 Ibid. 1350 Holocaust Victims Assets Programme/Swiss Banks (HVAP). URL: accessed 20 July 2015. 1351 URL: accessed 20 July 2015. 1352 ALFORD, R.P. The Claims Resolution Tribunal and Holocaust Claims against Swiss Banks , 20 Berkeley J. Int‘l Law. 250 (2002). An article written by the lawyer of this institution. 1353 Memorandum of Understanding BetweenThe World Jewish Restitution Organization and the World Jewish Congress and The Swiss Banker Association, reprinted in Volcker Report, supra note 2, at Appendix A, A-1. 1354 ŠTURMA, P. Outline…, 2013, cited above, p. 27.

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