Towards more equitable reparations: an appraisal of reparations on developing countries under state responsibility in international law

Abstract

Under State Responsibility in International Law, one of the consequences states that violate their international obligations face is paying reparations to the states that have been injured by the responsible state’s actions. The forms of such reparations include restitution, compensation and satisfaction. With the advent of the International Court of Justice’s decision in the reparations phase of the Armed Activities in the Territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo, attention was drawn to the financial impact reparations can have on the responsible state and whether this should be considered in determining the amount of reparations due to the injured state. The predominant mainstream position of International Law is that such questions are irrelevant and as such the reparations a responsible state is obliged to pay, are determined without consideration of the financial ramifications on it regardless of whether it is a developing country as was Uganda.

This thesis will demonstrate that the present stance on reparations is formalist and is oblivious to the economic disparity between states in the international community. It shall posit that imposing reparations using a uniform standard is inequitable in light of the varied financial power among states and thus the amounts at stake are not as trivial to developing countries as they are with highly developed countries. For developing countries such amounts pose risks to their very survival and by extension their citizenry’s welfare