Hans van Houtte, Hans Das, and Bart Delmartino
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199291922
- eISBN:
- 9780191603716
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199291926.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
In the aftermath of the 1990-1991 Gulf War, the UN Security Council determined that Iraq was liable under international law for any direct damage resulting from its unlawful invasion and occupation ...
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In the aftermath of the 1990-1991 Gulf War, the UN Security Council determined that Iraq was liable under international law for any direct damage resulting from its unlawful invasion and occupation of Kuwait. The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) was established to process the claims against Iraq. Since 1991, the UNCC has received approximately 2.6 million claims, which it has subdivided in six categories, depending on the status of the claimant, the type of loss, and the amount claimed. For certain claims, the UNCC has established fixed compensation standards, rather than assessing the exact amount of the loss. Other innovative features include mass claims resolution techniques and methodologies such as data matching, grouping, and sampling. The reparation process was funded through oil exports under the oil-for-food program. A share of originally 30% and later 25% of the proceeds was reserved for compensation. The oil-for-food program was terminated after the new war in Iraq in 2003, and the share of oil revenues dedicated to reparation was lowered to 5%. As of June 2005, the UNCC has decided nearly all claims.Less
In the aftermath of the 1990-1991 Gulf War, the UN Security Council determined that Iraq was liable under international law for any direct damage resulting from its unlawful invasion and occupation of Kuwait. The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) was established to process the claims against Iraq. Since 1991, the UNCC has received approximately 2.6 million claims, which it has subdivided in six categories, depending on the status of the claimant, the type of loss, and the amount claimed. For certain claims, the UNCC has established fixed compensation standards, rather than assessing the exact amount of the loss. Other innovative features include mass claims resolution techniques and methodologies such as data matching, grouping, and sampling. The reparation process was funded through oil exports under the oil-for-food program. A share of originally 30% and later 25% of the proceeds was reserved for compensation. The oil-for-food program was terminated after the new war in Iraq in 2003, and the share of oil revenues dedicated to reparation was lowered to 5%. As of June 2005, the UNCC has decided nearly all claims.
Peter H Sand
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199588817
- eISBN:
- 9780191725272
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588817.003.0076
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
Most commentators on the work of the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) agree that the Commission and its law-making record were rather unique in international law, both in terms of ...
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Most commentators on the work of the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) agree that the Commission and its law-making record were rather unique in international law, both in terms of institutional and procedural characteristics, and in terms of the substantive legal rules applied. Within the Commission's range of work in turn, there is a distinct segment that stands apart from the general context of the UNCC ‘regime’; namely the system of compensation for environmental claims, referred to as the ‘F4’ category. This chapter seeks to clarify the question as to why and how, or to what extent, the rules applied to environmental claims were indeed different, or sui generis, as compared with the rest of the UNCC. It is only after this kind of analytic clarification that the ulterior question can be asked as to whether the UNCC/F4 experience may hold any precedential lessons for other claims proceedings in the future.Less
Most commentators on the work of the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) agree that the Commission and its law-making record were rather unique in international law, both in terms of institutional and procedural characteristics, and in terms of the substantive legal rules applied. Within the Commission's range of work in turn, there is a distinct segment that stands apart from the general context of the UNCC ‘regime’; namely the system of compensation for environmental claims, referred to as the ‘F4’ category. This chapter seeks to clarify the question as to why and how, or to what extent, the rules applied to environmental claims were indeed different, or sui generis, as compared with the rest of the UNCC. It is only after this kind of analytic clarification that the ulterior question can be asked as to whether the UNCC/F4 experience may hold any precedential lessons for other claims proceedings in the future.
Cymie R. Payne
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- November 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198784630
- eISBN:
- 9780191827051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198784630.003.0015
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law, Environmental and Energy Law
The United Nations Compensation Commission (‘UNCC’) is a unique model for liability and compensation of environmental damage in an international context, influencing both jus in bello and jus post ...
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The United Nations Compensation Commission (‘UNCC’) is a unique model for liability and compensation of environmental damage in an international context, influencing both jus in bello and jus post bellum. The UNCC provided a legal process that catalogued, assessed, and awarded money to pay to clean and repair the damaged soil, water, coastal ecosystems, and other harms resulting from the 1990–1 Gulf War. Its contributions include integration of environmental law principles into the reparations process; use of advanced techniques for assessment of environmental damage; and use of a multilateral process in a way that balanced confidentiality and transparency. The UNCC environmental programme, viewed as an innovative approach to justice after war, highlights the contribution that the environmental integrity norm can make.Less
The United Nations Compensation Commission (‘UNCC’) is a unique model for liability and compensation of environmental damage in an international context, influencing both jus in bello and jus post bellum. The UNCC provided a legal process that catalogued, assessed, and awarded money to pay to clean and repair the damaged soil, water, coastal ecosystems, and other harms resulting from the 1990–1 Gulf War. Its contributions include integration of environmental law principles into the reparations process; use of advanced techniques for assessment of environmental damage; and use of a multilateral process in a way that balanced confidentiality and transparency. The UNCC environmental programme, viewed as an innovative approach to justice after war, highlights the contribution that the environmental integrity norm can make.
Mojtaba Kazazi
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199255733
- eISBN:
- 9780191698262
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199255733.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Environmental and Energy Law, Comparative Law
This chapter provides an overview of the processing and valuation of the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) environmental claims. The discussion is preliminary in nature since the Panel of ...
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This chapter provides an overview of the processing and valuation of the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) environmental claims. The discussion is preliminary in nature since the Panel of Commissioners tasked with reviewing environmental claims has not yet issued any recommendations on 107 claims for monitoring and assessment of environmental losses in March 2001, and plans to issue its reports and recommendations by December 2004.Less
This chapter provides an overview of the processing and valuation of the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) environmental claims. The discussion is preliminary in nature since the Panel of Commissioners tasked with reviewing environmental claims has not yet issued any recommendations on 107 claims for monitoring and assessment of environmental losses in March 2001, and plans to issue its reports and recommendations by December 2004.
Cymie Payne and Peter Sand (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- April 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199732203
- eISBN:
- 9780190259884
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199732203.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
The authors of this book, who held leadership positions and worked directly with the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), draw on their experience with the institution and provide a ...
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The authors of this book, who held leadership positions and worked directly with the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), draw on their experience with the institution and provide a comprehensive view of the UNCC and its work in the aftermath of the Gulf War. In this book, the first of two on the UNCC’s work, the authors explain that the United Nations Security Council established the ad hoc compensation commission to address reparations as a component of the ceasefire following Iraq’s 1990–91 invasion and occupation of Kuwait. The authors also describe how the work of the UNCC addressed important questions of state responsibility, environmental liability, mass claims processing, international law, and dispute settlement institutions in the post-armed conflict context. The scope and the scale of the UNCC was extraordinary, since almost 2.7 million claims from 80-plus countries were submitted to the Commission (which awarded in excess of $55 billion and has paid out more than half of that total), and that this led to the development of innovative procedural, institutional and managerial approaches in handling mass, environmental, and corporate claims at a scale that is unparalleled. Additionally, the book notes that the UNCC also contributed to the evolution of international jurisprudence in these areas.Less
The authors of this book, who held leadership positions and worked directly with the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), draw on their experience with the institution and provide a comprehensive view of the UNCC and its work in the aftermath of the Gulf War. In this book, the first of two on the UNCC’s work, the authors explain that the United Nations Security Council established the ad hoc compensation commission to address reparations as a component of the ceasefire following Iraq’s 1990–91 invasion and occupation of Kuwait. The authors also describe how the work of the UNCC addressed important questions of state responsibility, environmental liability, mass claims processing, international law, and dispute settlement institutions in the post-armed conflict context. The scope and the scale of the UNCC was extraordinary, since almost 2.7 million claims from 80-plus countries were submitted to the Commission (which awarded in excess of $55 billion and has paid out more than half of that total), and that this led to the development of innovative procedural, institutional and managerial approaches in handling mass, environmental, and corporate claims at a scale that is unparalleled. Additionally, the book notes that the UNCC also contributed to the evolution of international jurisprudence in these areas.
Elisabeth Günnewig
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780197537374
- eISBN:
- 9780197537404
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780197537374.003.0015
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
This chapter critically assesses the usefulness of a jus post bellum as a freshly discussed third pillar of international peace and security law with regard to a state’s duty to pay reparations for ...
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This chapter critically assesses the usefulness of a jus post bellum as a freshly discussed third pillar of international peace and security law with regard to a state’s duty to pay reparations for an unlawful resort to force. Based on the analysis of the relevant practice—starting from the Versailles reparations regime after the First World War and ending with the work of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission at the beginning of the twenty-first century—this chapter identifies a systemic gap in the current legal framework governing the aggressor state’s reparations obligation. While the principle of full reparation is one of the fundamental premises to the law of state responsibility and firmly enshrined in customary international law, there is a recurring practice in the aftermath of armed conflicts to consider the severity of the aggressor state’s wrongdoing and its economic capacity in determining the adequate reparations sum. The chapter concludes that this practice, which reflects the unique peacebuilding function of reparations in a post bellum society, can be best addressed by developing and applying a jus post bellum principle of proportionality to the aggressor state’s reparations obligation.Less
This chapter critically assesses the usefulness of a jus post bellum as a freshly discussed third pillar of international peace and security law with regard to a state’s duty to pay reparations for an unlawful resort to force. Based on the analysis of the relevant practice—starting from the Versailles reparations regime after the First World War and ending with the work of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission at the beginning of the twenty-first century—this chapter identifies a systemic gap in the current legal framework governing the aggressor state’s reparations obligation. While the principle of full reparation is one of the fundamental premises to the law of state responsibility and firmly enshrined in customary international law, there is a recurring practice in the aftermath of armed conflicts to consider the severity of the aggressor state’s wrongdoing and its economic capacity in determining the adequate reparations sum. The chapter concludes that this practice, which reflects the unique peacebuilding function of reparations in a post bellum society, can be best addressed by developing and applying a jus post bellum principle of proportionality to the aggressor state’s reparations obligation.