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Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission (EECC): Partial Award—Pensions, Eritrea's Claims 15, 19, and 23*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2017

Abstract

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Type
Judical and Similar Proceedings
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of International Law 2006

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Footnotes

*

This text was reproduced and reformatted from the text appearing at the Permanent Court of Arbitration website (visited April 04, 2006) <http://www.pca-cpa.org/>

References

Endnotes

1 Partial Award, Civilians Claims, Eritrea's Claims 15,16, 23 & 27-32 Between the State of Eritrea and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Dec. 17, 2004), Part XII.A., para. 6 [hereinafter Partial Award in Eritrea's Civilians Claims]

2 Id. at para. 19.

3 See Commission Decision No. 1: The Commission's Mandate/Temporal Scope of Jurisdiction, issued July 24, 2001.

4 Eritrea's Claim 19, Pensions, Memorial, filed by Eritrea on November 1, 2004, para. 1.4 [hereinafter ER Pensions Mem], contends that Eritrea paid pensions utilizing its own funds, and was then reimbursed by Ethiopia, rather than distributing funds provided by Ethiopia. This differs from the structure described in some documents in the record and from Ethiopia's description of the system. However, factual differences in this regard are not material and need not be resolved by the Commission.

5 Protocol Agreement on Labour, Social Affairs and Pensions Between the Government of the State of Eritrea and the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (Sept. 27, 1993), ER Pensions MEM, supra note 4, Annex C, p. 95.

6 Minutes of the Decisions made on Outstanding issues with regard to Pensions, Apr. 20, 1995, art. 1.1, Pensions Mem, supra note 4, Annex C, p. 113.

7 Separate Eritrean mechanisms administered the pensions of former civil servants and military personnel and those of former employees of state enterprises.

8 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, G.A. Res. 217A (III), U.N. Doc. A/810 (1948), at p. 71.

9 African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights, June 27,1981, reprinted in 21 I.L.M. p. 58 (1982).

10 Ethiopia's Counter-Memorial to Eritrea's Claim No. 19, filed by Ethiopia on January 17, 2005, at p. 1.

11 See Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, May 23, 1969, 1155 U.N.T.S. p. 331, arts. 31(2) & 32(3).

12 See, e.g., Lord mcnair & arthur d. watts, the legal effects of war pp. 343-365 (Cambridge 1966); Charles rousseau, droit international pub LIC pp. 345-348 (Dalloz, 7th ed. 1973).

13 ER Pensions Mem, supra note 4, at p. 27, para. 1.43.

14 See Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, supra note 11, art. 73.

15 Hague Convention (IV) Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and Annexed Regulations, Oct. 18, 1907, 36 Stat. p. 2277, 1 Bevans p. 631.

16 Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, Aug. 12,1949,6 U.S.T. p. 3114,75 U.N.T.S. p. 31; Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea, Aug. 12, 1949, 6 U.S.T. p. 3217, 75 U.N.T.S. p. 85; Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Aug. 12, 1949, 6 U.S.T. p. 3316, 75 U.N.T.S. p. 135; Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, Aug. 12, 1949, 6 U.S.T. p. 3516, 75 U.N.T.S. p. 287.

17 See, e.g., Vol. II, Oppenheim's international law pp. 303-304 (Hersch Lauterpacht ed., Longmans, 7th ed. 1952); Georg schwarzenberger, international law p. 71 (Stevens & Sons 1968); Paul reuter, droit international public p. 158 (Presses Universitaires de France 1983); Lord mcnair, the law of treaties pp. 703, 718 (Clarendon Press 1986); Charles rousseau, droit international public pp. 71-74 (Dalloz, 1 lth ed. 1987); Vol. IV Encycl pedia of public international law p. 1371 (Rudolf Bern-hardt ed., Elsevier 2000); Patrick dailler & alain pellet, nguyen quoc-dihn's droit international public p. 974 (L.G.D.J., 7th ed. 2002); Pierre-marie dupuy, droit international public p. 611 (Dalloz, 6th ed. 2002); Ian rownlie, principles of public international law p. 592 (Oxford University Press, 6th ed. 2003)

18 See Commission Decision No. 1, supra note 3, Section C.

19 Transcript of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission Hearings of April 2005, Peace Palace, The Hague, at p. 181 (Apr. 5, 2005) [hereinafter Pensions Hearing Transcript]. It would not be unusual if Ethiopian legislation does not establish a legally enforceable, non-derogable right to receive a pension for past government service. Many countries’ laws leave the State the flexibility to modify, or even eliminate altogether, such pensions. O'Connell notes that “the right of British civil servants to pensions is not absolute.” Vol.1, state succession in municipal law and international law p. 470 (D.P.O'Connell ed., Cambridge 1967) [hereinafter O'Connell].

20 See, e.g., Partial Award in Eritrea's Civilians Claims, supra note 1, para. 22.2’ Pensions Hearing Transcript, supra note 19, p. 182 (Apr. 5, 2005).

22 See O'Connell, supra note 19, pp. 467 et seq.

23 Danzig Pension Case, Case No. 41, Vol. 5, Annual digest of public international law cases 1929-1930 p. 67 (Longmans 1935), quoted in O'Connell, supra note 19, at p. 468.

24 ER Pensions Mem, supra note 4, at para. 1.3, briefly refers to “an enormous windfall” to Ethiopia “at the expense of elderly Eritreans,” but it does not otherwise indicate a claim for unjust enrichment under international law or address the legal elements of such a claim.

25 See Christoph Schreuer, Unjust Enrichment, in 9 Encyclopaedia of Public International Law p. 381 (Rudolf Bern- hardt ed., North-Holland 1986).

26 Supra, para. 20.

27 See Tribunal arbitral instituté par le compromis du 23 Octobre 1985 entre le Canada et la France : différend concernant le filetage a V intérieur du Golfe du Saint-Laurent, Sentence du 17 Juillet 1986, in REVUE GéNérale de droit international public p. 713 (Paris 1986), at p. 756.