Spanish Treaty Claims Commission

[1] Under Article VII of the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the United States assumed responsibility for the payment of all claims of her own citizens for which Spain would have been liable under principles of international law.

[1] The Commission also faced important legal questions, including the validity of claims arising from damages incurred during battles between Cuban insurgents and Spanish forces.

[1] Twenty-one claims, totalling $279,750, were paid for personal injuries suffered by U.S. citizens at the hands of Spanish military authorities, usually when detained on suspicion of aiding the insurrection and in violation of the 1795 Pinckney's Treaty between the two nations.

[1] The largest specific item of destruction for which claims were filed was the loss of sugar cane fields burned by insurgents or Spanish forces.

[1] The Commission reasoned that international law would not hold another country liable to American military officers, because such claims are national rather than personal, to be pursued only on behalf of the United States.