The claim preparers were often listed as the contact persons in the claim files and some claim files included attestations from the claim preparers opining on the merits of the claim.

Some claimants indicated that they engaged a claim preparer after seeing advertisements placed in Kuwaiti newspapers offering assistance with the filing of Palestinian late claims .

For these claims, the electronic information existing in the database was compared to the paper claim forms submitted by the claimants.

review of non overlapping claims in the FOURTHsecond group of overlapping claims

Taking into account all the circumstances of the case (urgency, time needed to replace the faulty device, claims from the main contractor), the Court held that the buyer could set off the damages against the full amount of the contractual price.

Claims

The secretariat has also used these electronic searches for duplicate claims in the Palestinian late claims programme, the Bedouin programme and the category A and C late claims programme.

These E4 claims were considered in the second instalment of E4 claims.

The Panel recalls that in its Sixth Instalment Report it identified three streams of claimants in order to address the varying circumstances of claimants, in particular the quality and quantity of business records available to support individual claims.

During their interviews, the claim preparers denied that they fabricated or altered evidence to bolster a claim or assisted claimants without valid losses to fabricate claims.

A more detailed discussion of the results of the statistical analyses and the Panel's reasoning is set out in chapter XII below.

(e) Medical claims

In particular, the Panel considered that it was appropriate to propose, as needed, adjustments to such awards in the light of new information and evidence presented.

Duplicate claims

Category C corrections Recommendations for corrections to category C claims are those arising from confirmed duplicate claims, discrepancies between the electronic and paper claim formats, and multiple recovery based on the duplication of claim awards.

Stand alone claims

First F4 instalment claim Nos. 5000354, 5000355, 5000356, 5000357, 5000358 and 5000430.

A similar exercise was conducted with respect to category C for the purpose of identifying duplicate claims during claims processing.

Concerning the issue of duplicate claims, the secretariat indicated that it was aware of the risk of duplicate claims from the outset of claims processing and took steps to identify and eliminate such claims during the course of claims processing.

Details of the claims or parts of claims that were deferred from previous F4 instalments or transferred from other claims categories are discussed in the relevant sections of this report.

In connection with the claims by governments for loss of life and reduced quality of life of their nationals, Iraq asserts that the claims are inadmissible because the Claimants concerned lack legal standing to bring such claims before the Commission.

The Panel notes that common traits displayed by these claim preparers include their command of the English language and familiarity with the Commission's claim development procedures and jurisprudence from the regular claims programme.

Recommendations for corrections to category A claims include the following kinds of corrections duplicate claims, higher to lower amounts, family to individual and change of submitting responsible entity.

Summary of claims in the thirtieth instalment

First F4 instalment, claim Nos. 5000363, 5000408 and 5000409.

Before the claims in this instalment were submitted to the Panel, the secretariat undertook a complete review of these claims in accordance with the Rules.

According to Iraq, international law and practice do not recognize the methodologies relied upon by the Claimants in these claims.

The Panel reviewed the potentially overlapping claims in the fourthsecond group of overlapping claims as and when the information provided by the claimants permitted an initial determination to be made on the existence of overlap.

Claims and Survey Unit

The total losses alleged in the instalment therefore are USD 35,972,592.

Where a claimant claims in a currency other than Kuwaiti dinars, the Panel values the claim in Kuwaiti dinars using the appropriate exchange rate.

The present report sets out the Panel's recommendations for a fourthsecond group of overlapping claims from resolved E4 instalments (the fourthsecond group of overlapping claims ).

Valuation of secured claims

First, the Panel noted that in some cases claimants clearly stated in their original claim submissions that they did not maintain audited financial statements, yet submitted audited financial statements in response to claim development notifications issued under the Rules.

Map showing territorial claims in the South China Sea.

As the role of the claim preparers in the preparation of claims appeared to warrant further scrutiny, at the Panel's instruction, a number of claim preparers were interviewed during the technical mission to Jordan in January 2005.

Some claim preparers indicated that claimants were referred by employees of the Jordanian Ministry of Labour or the Amman office of the Palestinian Authority.

Only unreasonable claims may be refused, but the state will bear the burden of proving unreasonableness.

Claim preparers often attended interviews with claimants and frequently acted as interpreters.

Therefore, before undertaking any review of the claims in the fourthsecond group of overlapping claims, and as stated in the preamble to decision 123, the Panel directed the secretariat to solicit additional information from the claimants in order to identify the extent and nature of the overlapping claims ( claim development ).

Draft article 15 Category of claims

These claims are discussed below.

This global approach was suited to the specifics of category C claims processing, as category C claims are subject to mass claims processing procedures and are not subject to extensive individual review or claim development.

As indicated earlier, nine claim files were transmitted to Iraq because the situs of all or some of the claimed losses was in Iraq, and one claim was transmitted to Iraq because the claimant claimed for losses relating to an invoice issued by an Iraqi party.

The claims relate to damage resulting from, inter alia