Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 60 Part 1.djvu/1080

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79TH CONG. , 2D SESS.-CH. 959--AUG. 13 , 1946 reports made by the committees of each House of Congress, when deemed necessary in the prosecution of its business. At any hearing held hereunder, any official letter, paper, document, map, or record in the possession of any officer or department, or court of the United States or committee of Congress (or a certified copy thereof), may be used in evidence insofar as relevant and material, including any deposition or other testimony of record in any suit or proceeding in any court of the United States to which an Indian or Indian tribe or group was a party, and the appropriate department of the Government of the United States shall give to the attorneys for all tribes or groups full and free access to such letters, papers, docu- ments, maps, or records as may be useful to said attorneys in the preparation of any claim instituted hereunder, and shall afford facili- ties for the examination of the same and, upon written request by said attorneys, shall furnish certified copies thereof. REPRESENTATION BY ATTORNEYS SEc. 15. Each such tribe, band, or other identifiable group of Indians may retain to represent its interests in the presentation of claims before the Commission an attorney or attorneys at law, of its own selection, whose practice before the Commission shall be regu- lated by its adopted procedure. The fees of such attorney or attor- neys for all services rendered in prosecuting the claim in question, whether before the Commission or otherwise, shall, unless the amount of such fees is stipulated in the approved contract between the attor- ney or attorneys and the claimant, be fixed by the Commission at such amount as the Commission, in accordance with standards obtaining for prosecuting similar contingent claims in courts of law, finds to be adequate compensation for services rendered and results obtained, considering the contingent nature of the case, plus all reasonable expenses incurred in the prosecution of the claim; but the amount so fixed by the Commission, exclusive of reimbursements for actual expenses, shall not exceed 10 per centum of the amount recovered in any case. The attorney or attorneys for any such tribe, band, or group as shall have been organized pursuant to section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 987; 25 U. S. C., sec. 476), shall be selected pursuant to the constitution and bylaws of such tribe, band, or group. The employment of attorneys for all other claimants shall be subject to the provisions of sections 2103 to 2106, inclusive, of the Revised Statutes (25 U. S . C . secs. 81, 82-84). The Attorney General or his assistants shall represent the United States in all claims presented to the Commission, and shall have authority, with the approval of the Commission, to compromise any claim presented to the Commission. Any such compromise shall be submitted by the Commission to the Congress as a part of its report as provided in section 21 hereof in the same manner as final determi- nations of the Commission, and shall be subject to the provisions of section 22 hereof. Use of documents, etc. , in evidence. Fees Authority of At- torney General. NO MEMBER OF CONGRESS TO PRACTICE BEFORE COMMISSION SEC. 16. No Senator or Member of or Delegate to Congress shall, during his continuance in office, practice before the Commission. HEARING SEC. 17. The Commission shall give reasonable notice to the inter- ested parties and an opportunity for them to be heard and to present evidence before making any final determination upon any claim. Hearings may be held in any part of the United States or in the Territory of Alaska. 1053 60 STAT.]