Double Standards of Compensation
- Date
- 13 April 2026
- Time
- 15:30 -17:00
- Location
- Roeterseilandcampus - building A
- Room
- A3.15
Abstract
Provided governments protect property of nationals in conformity with an established international standard, foreigners are entitled to neither more nor less. That has been the public position by Western governments since at least the 19th century. Internal government records from the Cold War, however, show that one of the main architects of the international law on property protection, the United Kingdom, knowingly pursued double standards of compensation. While demanding developing countries follow the international standard on compensation for expropriation, shifting British governments were unwilling to adhere to the same standard in the UK. The findings contribute to the growing attention to double standards in international law and are notable in light of normative debates about distributive justice embedded in international law on property protection.
Research
In recent years, Professor Poulsen's work has mainly focused on the history of international claims settlement using archival materials to understand how governments settled complex disputes before the rise of international courts and tribunals. This includes work on the settlement of claims following the Russian revolution - the longest and most complex sovereign debt dispute in history - and the use of lump sum settlement agreements to settle war and property claims since the 17th century.
