On September 14, 1982, the Department of State submitted proposed legislation (S. 2967) to Congress that would authorize the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to adjudicate “small” claims of U.S. nationals against Iran, i.e., those for less than $250,000, in the event of an agreement between the United States and Iran for an en bloc settlement to cover such claims. The Commission’s adjudications would be made in accordance with the provisions and procedures of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949, as amended, subject to the provisions of the relevant claims settlement agreements (the Claims Settlement Agreement of the Algiers Accords and any lump sum settlement agreement negotiated with Iran).

In Egle v. Egle, an action for child custody, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on June 17, 1982 requested that the Legal Adviser of the Department of State file by letter or amicus curiae brief the executive branch’s view as to whether the court retained jurisdiction to consider an application for rehearing of an appeal in which it had affirmed the former District Court for the District of the Canal Zone on March 31, 1982, the last day of that court’s existence.