(July 19, 2007) To view a PDF of this file please click the following:
African conduit guilty in Lesotho bribe trial
(June 13, 2007) The long-running series of corruption trials against leading international construction companies in the southern African state of Lesotho has reached another milestone with a guilty plea from one of the main intermediaries for the bribes.
The concept of odious debt in public international law
(July 1, 2007) The concept of “odious debt” regroups a set of equitable considerations that have often been raised in the context of political transitions.
Towards a solution to odious debts and looking at creditors’ incentives
(July 1, 2007) Abstract: Rather than propose a solution to the problem of odious debts, this paper seeks to analyze the causes of odious incentives in international finance.
Xiamen anti-pollution protests: What next?
(June 4, 2007) The eastern coastal city of Xiamen, Fujian province, has witnessed what are probably the biggest urban-based demonstrations in China since the movement against state sector sackings and privatisation in the northeast in 2002.
Devilry, Complicity, and Greed: Transitional Justice and Odious Debt
(June 1, 2007) The doctrine of odious debts came into its full in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century to deal with the financial injustices of colonialism and its stalking horse, despotism. The basic rule, as articulated by Alexander Sack in 1927, is that debts incurred by an illegitimate regime that neither benefit nor have the consent of the people of a territory are personal to the regime and are subject to unilateral recision by a successor government.
Unconstitutional Regimes and the Validity of Sovereign Debt
(June 1, 2007) A Legal Perspective: Unconstitutional Regimes and the Validity of Sovereign Debt
Odious debt in retrospect
(May 30, 2007) Current interest in the problem of “odious debt” is intertwined with other problems that afflict many developing and emerging market countries: despotic governments, unsustainable external debt burdens, and large-scale official corruption. If the universe of odious debt cases is relatively small, then it is likely uneconomical to develop an extensive legal apparatus ex ante.
World Bank justice
(May 18, 2007) All that mattered to Mr. Wolfowitz’s accusers was to be rid of him, whatever the pretext or methods.
Big polluters emboldened by local governments that ignore violations
(May 18, 2007) It is critical for China’s slowly progressing environmental campaign to strengthen supervision and loosen the interest bonds between money and power – a tall order.
Wolfowitz resigns, ending long fight at World Bank
(May 17, 2007) The resignation, effective June 30, brings a dramatic conclusion to two days of negotiations between Mr. Wolfowitz and the bank board after weeks of turmoil.
Wolfowitz, the World Bank, and illegitimate lending
(May 16, 2007) Although the World Bank is finally addressing corruption, President Paul Wolfowitz is doing so in a way that puts all the responsibility on the people of the borrowing country. In Wolfowitz’s system, the lender carries no responsibility.
Watchdog Pan Yue calls for environment renewal
(May 15, 2007) In 1962, an unassuming Rachel Carson convinced Americans that blind faith in technology, as evidenced in the indiscriminate use of pesticides, was harmful to man as well as nature.
World Bank jobbery
(May 15, 2007) More evidence the Wolfowitz accusers chose to ignore.
Special report of the World Bank’s ad hoc group
(May 14, 2007) According to a report by the World Bank’s ad hoc group, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz did violate ethics rules in his handling of a promotion and generous pay rise […]


