100
Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its fifty-third session
bodies,521 and ICSID tribunals under the Convention on
the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and
Nationals of other States.522 Other compensation claims
have been settled by agreement, normally on a without
prejudice basis, with the payment of substantial compensation a term of the agreement.523 The rules and principles
developed by these bodies in assessing compensation can
be seen as manifestations of the general principle stated
in article 36.
(7) As to the appropriate heads of compensable damage
and the principles of assessment to be applied in quantification, these will vary, depending upon the content of particular primary obligations, an evaluation of the respective
behaviour of the parties and, more generally, a concern to
reach an equitable and acceptable outcome.524 The following examples illustrate the types of damage that may
be compensable and the methods of quantification that
may be employed.
(8) Damage to the State as such might arise out of the
shooting down of its aircraft or the sinking of its ships,
attacks on its diplomatic premises and personnel, damage caused to other public property, the costs incurred in
responding to pollution damage, or incidental damage
arising, for example, out of the need to pay pensions and
medical expenses for officials injured as the result of a
wrongful act. Such a list cannot be comprehensive and
the categories of compensable injuries suffered by States
are not closed.
(9) In the Corfu Channel case, the United Kingdom
sought compensation in respect of three heads of damage: replacement of the destroyer Saumarez, which be(Footnote 520 continued.)
prudence on these subjects, see, inter alia, Aldrich, op. cit. (footnote
357 above), chaps. 5–6 and 12; C. N. Brower and J. D. Brueschke, The
Iran-United States Claims Tribunal (The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff,
1998), chaps. 14–18; M. Pellonpää, “Compensable claims before the
Tribunal: expropriation claims”, The Iran-United States Claims Tribunal: Its Contribution to the Law of State Responsibility, R. B. Lillich
and D. B. MaGraw, eds. (Irvington-on-Hudson, Transnational, 1998),
pp. 185–266; and D. P. Stewart, “Compensation and valuation issues”,
ibid., pp. 325–385.
521 For a review of the practice of such bodies in awarding compensation, see D. Shelton, Remedies in International Human Rights Law
(Oxford University Press, 1999), pp. 214–279.
522 ICSID tribunals have jurisdiction to award damages or other remedies in cases concerning investments arising between States parties and
nationals. Some of these claims involve direct recourse to international
law as a basis of claim. See, e.g., Asian Agricultural Products Limited
v. Republic of Sri Lanka, ICSID Reports (Cambridge University Press,
1997), vol. 4, p. 245 (1990).
523 See, e.g., Certain Phosphate Lands in Nauru, Preliminary Objections (footnote 230 above), and for the Court’s order of discontinuance
following the settlement, ibid., Order (footnote 232 above); Passage
through the Great Belt (Finland v. Denmark), Order of 10 September
1992, I.C.J. Reports 1992, p. 348 (order of discontinuance following
settlement); and Aerial Incident of 3 July 1988 (Islamic Republic of
Iran v. United States of America), Order of 22 February 1996, I.C.J.
Reports 1996, p. 9 (order of discontinuance following settlement).
524 See Aldrich, op. cit. (footnote 357 above), p. 242. See also
Graefrath, “Responsibility and damages caused: relationship between responsibility and damages” (footnote 454 above), p. 101;
L. Reitzer, La réparation comme conséquence de l’acte illicite en droit
international (Paris, Sirey, 1938); Gray, op. cit. (footnote 432 above),
pp. 33–34; J. Personnaz, La réparation du préjudice en droit international public (Paris, 1939); and M. Iovane, La riparazione nella teoria
e nella prassi dell’illecito internazionale (Milan, Giuffrè, 1990).
came a total loss, the damage sustained by the destroyer
“Volage”, and the damage resulting from the deaths and
injuries of naval personnel. ICJ entrusted the assessment
to expert inquiry. In respect of the destroyer Saumarez, the
Court found that “the true measure of compensation” was
“the replacement cost of the [destroyer] at the time of its
loss” and held that the amount of compensation claimed
by the British Government (£ 700,087) was justified.
For the damage to the destroyer “Volage”, the experts had
reached a slightly lower figure than the £ 93,812 claimed
by the United Kingdom, “explained by the necessarily approximate nature of the valuation, especially as regards
stores and equipment”. In addition to the amounts awarded
for the damage to the two destroyers, the Court upheld the
United Kingdom’s claim for £ 50,048 representing “the
cost of pensions and other grants made by it to victims or
their dependants, and for costs of administration, medical
treatment, etc”.525
(10) In the M/V “Saiga” (No. 2) case, Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines sought compensation from Guinea following the wrongful arrest and detention of a vessel registered
in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the “Saiga”, and its
crew. ITLOS awarded compensation of US$ 2,123,357
with interest. The heads of damage compensated included, inter alia, damage to the vessel, including costs
of repair, losses suffered with respect to charter hire of
the vessel, costs related to the detention of the vessel, and
damages for the detention of the captain, members of the
crew and others on board the vessel. Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines had claimed compensation for the violation
of its rights in respect of ships flying its flag occasioned
by the arrest and detention of the “Saiga”; however, the
tribunal considered that its declaration that Guinea acted
wrongfully in arresting the vessel in the circumstances,
and in using excessive force, constituted adequate reparation.526 Claims regarding the loss of registration revenue
due to the illegal arrest of the vessel and for the expenses
resulting from the time lost by officials in dealing with
the arrest and detention of the ship and its crew were also
unsuccessful. In respect of the former, the tribunal held
that Saint Vincent and the Grenadines failed to produce
supporting evidence. In respect of the latter, the tribunal
considered that such expenses were not recoverable since
they were incurred in the exercise of the normal functions
of a flag State.527
(11) In a number of cases, payments have been directly
negotiated between injured and injuring States following wrongful attacks on ships causing damage or sinking
of the vessel, and in some cases, loss of life and injury
among the crew.528 Similar payments have been negotiated where damage is caused to aircraft of a State, such as
525 Corfu Channel, Assessment of Amount of Compensation (see
footnote 473 above), p. 249.
526 The M/V “Saiga” case (see footnote 515 above), para. 176.
527 Ibid., para. 177.
528 See the payment by Cuba to the Bahamas for the sinking by Cuban aircraft on the high seas of a Bahamian vessel, with loss of life
among the crew (RGDIP, vol. 85 (1981), p. 540), the payment of compensation by Israel for an attack in 1967 on the USS Liberty, with loss
of life and injury among the crew (ibid., p. 562), and the payment by
Iraq of US$ 27 million for the 37 deaths which occurred in May 1987
when Iraqi aircraft severely damaged the USS Stark (AJIL, vol. 83,
No. 3 (July 1989), p. 561).