A Century on from the Chorzów Factory: Reparations, National Wars of Liberation and the Limits of Wiping out the Consequences of Armed Conflicts

Reparations have been used, for nearly as long as war, to secure the peace. This chapter considers the place of reparations and the Chorzów Factory case in settling claims after armed conflict, in particular those emerging from colonialism and occupation, discussing the challenges of redressing the harm caused to civilians and other victims. In particular, it examines the limits of international law in the form of international humanitarian law and human rights law in providing a legal basis and often forum for victims’ claims to be brought. From this survey it is apparent that in the past century, reparations for violations have been inadequate and in many cases absent. This has been particularly acute in wiping out the consequences in the majority of wars of national liberation that marked the mid-twentieth century and recent neo-colonial conflicts in the Middle East by Western powers. This raises fundamental questions about the extent of the obligation to wipe out the consequences of armed conflict in terms of whose harm is worth repairing and the flexibility with which the obligation is applied in practice.