(November 14, 2003) The basis of the [odious debt] argument is not just moral and political: it is grounded on a century-old international legal doctrine that has been revived recently to deal with increased accountability for creditor complicity in shady lending practices.
Saddam’s evil debts
(October 23, 2003) Iraq’s outstanding loans were incurred without the population’s consent, as creditors likely were aware, and such ‘odious debt’ deserves to be forgiven.
Africa’s Debt: Who Owes Whom?
(November 22, 2002) An alternative strategy is for African countries to selectively repudiate past loans, invoking the doctrine of “odious debt” in international law as well as historical precedents…
Odious Debt
(August 13, 2002) This paper examines the case for eliminating illegitimate or odious debt. The argument is that the population of a country is not responsible for loans taken out by an illegitimate government that did not have the right to borrow ‘in its name.’
The Doctrine of Odious Debts: Using the Law to Cancel Illegitimate Debts
(June 21, 2002) Patricia Adams’ speech from her 12-city speaking tour of Germany in June 2002, at the invitation of the German Jubilee Network.
Defining Illegitimate Debt: Understanding the issues
(June 1, 2002) The concepts of unpayable debt and an international insolvency procedure are now part of the discourse on international finance. The third side of the triangle needs to be defined and established so debtors can argue that some debt is illegitimate.
Odious debt
(May 10, 2002) Some argue that sovereign debt incurred without the consent of the people and not for their benefit, such as that of apartheid South Africa, should be considered odious and not transferable to successor governments.
Final Judgement
(April 18, 2002) The members of the International Peoples’ Tribunal met in Washington, D.D., on April 18, 2002, to pronounce their Final Sentence in the case against the Debt substantiated in the public hearings held in Porto Alegre, in February, as part of the II World Social Forum.
Sentencia Final
(April 18, 2002) This is the Spanish version of the final sentence of the International Peoples’ Tribunal on Debt in the case against the Debt, substantiated in the public hearings held in Porto Alegre, in February.
Concordats for debt cancellation – Making debt relief work twice -first, as money to the poor; second, for empowering the poor
(June 1, 2001) Programme Co-ordinator of Jubilee Plus calls for the development of an international legal framework for debt relief, governed by independent, fair and transparent processes.
The illegal foreign debt: the value and likelihood of a legal ruling
(April 21, 2001) A recent Argentinian court decision on foreign debt sends a clear message to the citizens of highly indebted countries that international creditors were responsible for ensuring foreign loans were not used for the interests and needs of the state.
Still Waiting for the Jubilee: Pragmatic Solutions for the Third World Debt Crisis
(April 1, 2001) David Roodman calls for debt relief strategies focused on reducing rich-country import barriers, scaling back export credit agencies and creating a sovereign bankruptcy panel to cancel “odious debts.”
Domestic crony capitalism and international fickle capital: is there a connection?
(March 1, 2001) The director of the Project on Corruption and Globalization at the Brookings Institute examines the connection between domestic crony capitalism and dependence on volatile international capital flows such as international bank loans.
Publicly guaranteed corruption: corrupt power projects and the responsibility of export credit agencies in Indonesia
(November 2000) According to Peter Brossard, foreign companies in Indonesia secured exorbitant profits by participating in Suharto’s corrupt regime. All the while, these comapnies were given political and financial support by northern governments, international financial institutions and export credit agencies.
Criminal debt in the Indonesian context
(July 3, 2000) Associate Professor of Political Economy at Northwestern University discusses the concept of criminal debt and corruption of World Bank funds in Indonesia.
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