International Law Review

International Law Review

Reparation of Moral Damages in International Law with Emphasis on ICJ’s Judgment in Congo v. Uganda Case (2022)

Document Type : academic

Author
Siamak Karimi
Ph. D. of Public International law, University of Tehran, Adjunct Professor of Farabi Campus of Tehran University
10.22066/cilamag.2022.252562
Abstract
One of the inalienable effects of international responsibility of States is the full reparation of the consequences of wrongdoing. Unlike restitution and compensation, which are mainly used to compensate material damage, satisfaction has been considered as an appropriate method of compensating non-pecuniary damage by State practice, case law and especially the ILC. The study of these procedures shows that satisfaction is generally obtained through processes such as apologizing, declaring the act as a wrongful act, punishing the perpetrators, and so on. On the other hand, financially satisfaction faces serious challenges, but the studies of this article show that it is exceptionally accepted in case of severe and systematic moral damage to non-State entities. The February 9, 2022 judgment of the ICJ in the case of Congo v. Uganda was an opportunity for the Court to resolve the ambiguities of satisfaction. However, as this article will show, this ruling has deepened these doubts, and the Court has reached findings for which no record is available.
Keywords
Moral Damage
Reparation
Satisfaction
Congo v. Uganda Case (2022)
International Responsibility

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  • Receive Date 23 April 2022
  • Revise Date 28 May 2022
  • Accept Date 06 June 2022