The Third World and the Quest for Reparations: Afterword to the Foreword by Antony Anghie

Abstract

In his Foreword, Antony Anghie contrasts two systems of reparations: the Third World system, which is about reparations for colonial expropriation and disenfranchisement, and the Western system, according to which, in the context of decolonization, newly independent states were allowed to expropriate foreign corporations only in return for full compensation. While the Western system has been firmly anchored in international law through the law of aliens and – later – investment law, the Third World system still meets with resistance in international legal discourse. Convinced that international law should be instrumental in overcoming its own colonial origins, I attempt in the following article to explore possible legal foundations by countering the main arguments raised against demands for reparations from the global South: their disruptive effects on today’s societies, conceptual and technical legal obstacles, as well as the doctrine of non-retroactivity of the law. Not being a TWAIL scholar myself, I hope that this might serve as a constructive contribution to a common cause.