Non-reimbursable foreign aid as a factor for reducing war reparations in inter-state adjudication

Abstract

The ICJ dealt with the issue of reparations in international armed conflict in Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda). The ICJ relied conceptually on the work on the subject-matter by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission (EECC). This close connection could also revitalize other EECC statements on compensation. Particularly, the use of non-reimbursable foreign aid received by the injured State as a factor that reduces compensation to be paid by the responsible State. This article challenges this approach for lack of support in the Articles on State Responsibility, identifies potential counter-arguments, such as the existence of punitive damages or double recovery if non-reimbursable foreign aid is not discounted, and responds to them. As the EECC and ICJ recognized, war compensations remedy only a fraction of the injury, so this article seeks to avoid a further erosion of an already low war reparation.