When Countries Default – Law and Policy

Description

Dr Michael Waibel, British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law presents his work at the CRASSH Postdoctoral Research Seminar.

A light buffet lunch will be provided. Please contact Anne Alexander to reserve a place. Reading materials are available on the Camtools site for the CRASSH Postdoc Research Seminar (if you do not have an @cam email address, or have difficulty accessing the site please email Anne Alexander for a copy).

Abstract:

Bankruptcy has been a feature of sovereign lending since time immemorial. The English King Edward III cancelled debts incurred to finance the Hundred Years' war in the 14th century. France defaulted on its debt shortly after the French Revolution. When the Soviets came to power in 1917, they repudiated Tsarist debt. European countries defaulted on their sovereign debt in the interwar period, and many Latin American countries did so during the Latin American debt crisis of the 1980s. Argentina, the first major default of the 21st century, was only the final major chapter in the long history of sovereign overindebtedness.Rapid accumulation of sovereign debt since the start of the global economic crisis last year could usher in a new wave of sovereign defaults over the next decade. Drawing on historical examples, my talk will give an overview of how law deals with countries that default on their payment obligations. It will also set out some policy options for resolving future sovereign debt crises more effectively.