War Reparations: The Case for Countermeasures

80 Pages Posted: 24 Aug 2023 Last revised: 9 May 2024

See all articles by Oona A. Hathaway

Oona A. Hathaway

Yale University - Law School

Maggie Mills

Yale Law School

Thomas M. Poston

Yale Law School

Date Written: November 8, 2023

Abstract

Who pays for the terrible destruction wrought by war? This problem is far from new, but it is currently receiving renewed attention as a result of the war in Ukraine. The options currently available to states that are the victims of unlawful wars in the postwar era are limited. For Ukraine, some have proposed addressing this shortfall by seizing frozen Russian sovereign assets, and both the United States and Canada have passed legislation permitting just that. European officials have considered a similar proposal, but they have thus far rejected them as too legally risky. Indeed, such plans run afoul of the longstanding international law doctrine of sovereign immunity. Put simply, they attempt to cure one international legal violation by engaging in another.

Keywords: international law, reparations, war, Ukraine, United Nations, General Assembly, countermeasures, collective countermeasures, sovereign immunity

JEL Classification: K33

Suggested Citation

Hathaway, Oona A. and Mills, Maggie and Poston, Thomas, War Reparations: The Case for Countermeasures (November 8, 2023). Stanford Law Review, Vol. 76, No. 5, Forthcoming , Yale Law School, Public Law Research Paper, Yale Law & Economics Research Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4548945

Oona A. Hathaway (Contact Author)

Yale University - Law School ( email )

P.O. Box 208215
New Haven, CT 06520-8215
United States
203-432-4992 (Phone)
203-432-1107 (Fax)

Maggie Mills

Yale Law School ( email )

127 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06510
United States

Thomas Poston

Yale Law School ( email )

127 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06510
United States

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