Abstract
International law obliges states to respect their obligations in accordance with the principle of pacta sunt servanda unless the obligation is odious. Citizens of any state should depend on state practice and judicial precedent to repudiate obligation that originated odiously. Jurisprudential and legal controversy arose about the extent of the state’s commitment with debt arising from those obligations. Jurisprudence and the judiciary tried to set a definition of odious debt since the eighteenth century. The difficulty of the definition arises in determining when and how debt is odious, and what are the criteria of odious debt. Another difficulty arises in finding sources of international law to cancel and reject such debt. This paper will be primarily concerned with identifying the precise definition of and normative basis for the doctrine of odious debt in international law. It also concerned with the international legal standards that states can rely on to get rid of that debt. The legal principles are founded on the sources of international law laid down in Article 38 of the Statute of ICJ. Through a review of different sources of international law, the conclusion is that odious debts arise without the consent of the population, without benefit to them, and with the knowledge of the creditor. The paper also concludes that there are at least three legal grounds for repudiating odious debt.
Department
Law Department
Degree Name
LLM in International and Comparative Law
Graduation Date
6-1-2014
Submission Date
May 2014
First Advisor
Sayed, Hani
Committee Member 1
Beckett, Jason
Committee Member 2
Lorite, Alejandro
Extent
51 p.
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Library of Congress Subject Heading 1
Debts, Public -- Law and legislation.
Library of Congress Subject Heading 2
Debts, Exterl -- Law and legislation.
Rights
The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.
Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval
Not necessary for this item
Recommended Citation
APA Citation
Abozeid, H.
(2014).Odious Debt Doctrine: a legal perspective [Master's Thesis, the American University in Cairo]. AUC Knowledge Fountain.
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/863
MLA Citation
Abozeid, Hesham Mohamed. Odious Debt Doctrine: a legal perspective. 2014. American University in Cairo, Master's Thesis. AUC Knowledge Fountain.
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/863
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