War Claims: What of the Future?

Abstract

During the nineteenth century war claims seemed to have been based on one or more of the following considerations: (i) respect for property and other legal rights of individuals, (2) respect for international law, (3) equalization of losses, (4) indemnity to the victor to recover war costs and to delay recovery of the enemy. (i) Respect for private rights. Humanitarian sentiments toward non-combatants and civilians,l the economic interests of commercial and propertied classes,2 and the prevalence of economic and political theories which emphasized the general interest in the maintenance of international trade, in separating economic activity from government, and in reducing the impact of war upon the community3 greatly infliuenced the development of international law in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. That law came to protect private property from belligerent depredation, unless some specific military advantage was to be gained, and to protect enemy civilians in occupied territory, on the high seas, and in the belligerent's own territory from personal injury. Thus, it was normal for individuals who had had their property seized or their credits confiscated or who had suffered personal injury during war to demand restitution or compensation. Such claims might be made by the defeated as well as by the victor government and also by neutral governments in behalf of their nationals. Through the settlement of such claims international law developed