Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

After nearly four decades of debate on the subject, Congress exercised its power under Article I of the Constitution and passed the Veterans Judicial Review Act of 1988 (VJRA) (102 Stat. 4105 [38 U.S.C.A. § 4051] [recodified at 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (1991)]). Originally called the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals, the new court came into existence on November 18, 1988, the day President GEORGE H. W. BUSH signed the VJRA. Subsequent legislation changed the name of the court on March 1, 1999, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

One of several specialized federal courts established by Congress under Article I—including the U.S. Court of Military Appeals, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and the U.S. Tax Court—the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims exercises exclusive jurisdiction over the decisions of the Board of Veterans Appeals...