Iran–United States Claims Tribunal

The Iran–United States Claims Tribunal (IUSCT) is an international arbitral tribunal established by the Algiers Accords, an international agreement between the U.S. and Iran embodied in two Declarations by the Government of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria issued on 19 January 1981, to resolve the crisis in relations between the two countries arising out of incidents in U.S. embassy in Tehran.

Not to be confused with Iran Tribunal.

Affected by United States’ role in 1953 coup d'état which resulted in overthrown of the first-ever democratically elected government of Mohammad Mossadegh, elements of Iranian society demanded the return of the dethroned Shah and the Iranian assets he had taken with him while fleeing Iran after the 1979 Revolution, which the U.S. refused to comply with. After multiple gatherings outside the U.S. embassy, on 4 November 1979, a group of militarized university students climbed the walls of the building, seized the premises, and took hostage 52 embassy employees working there for 444 days in what is known as the Iran hostage crisis, demanding the return of the Shah in exchange for the hostages. In response to the hostage-taking, U.S.-Iran relations broke down, the U.S. froze billions of dollars of Iranian money, imposed sanctions on transactions with Iran, and authorized judicial confiscation of Iranian assets on U.S. soil.

To settle the dispute, senior Algerian officials brokered rounds of negotiations, calling for the release of the Americans and termination of U.S.’s countermeasures. Negotiations between parties wrapped up as two Declarations were issued, part of which established an arbitral tribunal for the settlement of property and contract claims of Iran and United States against each other. The new tribunal is located in The Hague, Netherlands and has been called “the most significant arbitral body in history”. Its decisions are considered binding for both sides. Mark Feldman.pdf

The IUSCT has been called "the most significant arbitral body in history", and its decisions are considered influential in the areas of investor-state arbitration and state responsibility.

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