colonialism; international responsibility of states; reparations
Abstract :
[en] Noting the changes that have occurred in recent years in Western official discourses regarding the legacy of colonialism, this article examines the potential legal consequences of these changes in the field of international state responsibility. The first part of the article consists of a survey of recent Western state practice. It observes that while some Western states have lately acknowledged the unjustifiable character of certain acts related to colonialism and have taken measures to repare the consequences of these acts, these measures have, with one exception, assumed an ex gratia character. The second part of the article is dedicated to the intertemporal law principle, which constitutes the main argument used to defend this position. Western states invoke this principle to deny the internationally wrongful character of their past colonial policies and rule out any general obligation to make reparation for the damage caused by these policies. However, the principle of intertemporal law has become subject to various reassessments, which challenge the legal postulates inherited from the past.
Disciplines :
European & international law Metalaw, Roman law, history of law & comparative law
Author, co-author :
Erpelding, Michel ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance (FDEF) > Department of Law (DL)
