THE INVALIDITY APPEAL COMMISSION (IAC)

Abstract

When a person applies for a military invalidity pension (PMI), he or she may receive either an explicit rejection decision, or an implicit rejection decision if no reply is received four months after the start of the pension application. If the serviceman disagrees with this decision, either because no pension is awarded or because the percentage of disability awarded is considered lower than that estimated by the victim, the serviceman may then appeal to the Commission de Recours de l'Invalidité (CRI) within six months of the disputed decision. This amicable recourse to the CRI harmonizes pension law with common administrative law, through the Recours Administratif Préalable Obligatoire (RAPO), the aim of which is to avoid the development of litigation and the clogging up of the courts. The CRI must notify the interested party of its decision within four months of the date of referral. In the acknowledgement of receipt of the appeal, the claimant is informed that he/she may be heard by the CRI if he/she so requests within one month of the acknowledgement of receipt. If the petitioner wishes to be heard, he/she will be notified at least one month before the CRI meeting. They may be assisted by a person of their choice, including a lawyer. All hearings take place in Paris, and in the event of an amicable settlement being rejected in whole or in part, the serviceman concerned has two months in which to appeal to the Tribunal Administratif (TA). The decision contested before the TA is the one handed down by the CRI, not the one made by the pensions department. 25% of appeals are totally or partially successful.