The Constitutionality of the New Claims Court

Abstract

On October I, 1982, the Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1982 became effective. Among other innovations, the Act creates a new Article I trial court, the United States Claims Court, which assumes most of the trial jurisdiction of the current Court of Claims. A recent Supreme Court decision, however, has raised questions concerning the constitutionality of the Claims Court.

In Northern Pipeline Construction Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co., 102 S.Ct. 2858 (1982), the Supreme Court struck down the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 because it unconstitutionally vested Article III judicial power in a court composed of Article I judges. This has led to some concern that the Federal Courts Improvement Act may suffer from a similar constitutional infirmity.

Keywords: Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1982, U.S. Claims Court, constitutionality, constitutional infirmity, Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Court of Claims,

JEL Classification: K39, K40, K41, K49,