Qui tam
In English common law , a writ of qui tam was a court order according to which a private person who supports criminal prosecution is entitled to any or part of the fine . The name comes from the Latin formula qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur , that is, "[he] who complains in this matter for the king as [as] for himself".
The Writ became obsolete in England and Wales as a result of the Common Informers Act 1951 . The law of the United States of America provides for qui-tam rules in some provisions that are more than a hundred years old:
- The False Claims Act , 31 United States Code § 3729 et seq. Awards around 15 to 25 percent of the damages brought in to a private whistleblower who reports fraud against contractors of the federal government (e.g. by inflated bills).
- Further, less frequently used qui-tam rules can be found in 18 USC 962 regarding arming ships against friendly states, 25 USC 201 regarding violations of Indian protection laws, 46a USC 723 regarding the removal of submarine treasures from Florida abroad and 35 USC 292 regarding adding false patent notices.
The latter qui-tam provision regarding patent notices was declared unconstitutional by a federal district court in February 2011, as it illegally left the decision to prosecute at the sole discretion of private individuals.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States ex rel. Stevens (98-1828), 529 US 765 (2000) 162 F.3d 195, May 22, 2000, fn. 1.
- ↑ Unique Product Solutions, Ltd. v. Hy-Grade Valve, Inc. (ND Ohio [PDF; 88 kB]), February 23, 2011.