When researching Veterans Benefits Law, you will find that this area of law is heavily focused on Administrative Law--specifically, federal regulations and federal agency decisions/adjudications. While there are various federal statutes in the United States Code (U.S.C.) dealing with veterans affairs--see U.S.C. Title 38, Veterans' Benefits--the necessary detailed information is found in the implementing regulations.
The final version of a federal regulation is first published in the Federal Register by the agency involved, and is then codified by topic in the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.). The relevant regulations for veterans benefits can be found in Title 38 of the CFR--Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief.
Citations to statutes and regulations related to specific types of veterans' benefits are found on the "Statutes & Regulations" page in this guide.
"Cases" for veterans benefits decisions involve 2 levels of federal agency adjudication, which can then be appealed to an Article I court--the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC), and then to an Article III court--The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The process begins with a Veterans Affairs Regional Office (VARO or RO), that will issue a determination on a benefits claim. Certain benefits determinations are then appealed to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA). Decisionmakers at the BVA are administrative law judges, called Veterans Law Judges (VLJs). Claimants may appeal BVA decisions to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC). While only claimants can appeal BVA decisions to the CAVC, both claimants AND the VA may appeal CAVC decisions to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Links to decisions of the Board of Veterans' Appeals as well as decisions of the CAVC and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit are found on the "Agency Decisions & Case Law" page in this guide.
