Untouchable Sovereign Debts: Towards a New Model of Transitional Justice and Global Finance

Who bears the cost of peace in societies transitioning from oppressive regimes? Who is responsible for paying back the debts incurred by dictators? These questions are crucial in transitional justice situations, yet the discipline discusses debts and transitional justice separately. While sovereign debts are viewed within markets and global economic frameworks, transitional justice is considered within citizens and human rights frameworks.

This approach is flawed as it marginalizes human dignity and social justice considerations. To rectify this schism, this Article brings these two legal spheres together in an epistemic dialogue using sovereign debt as the point of intersection. In transitional justice situations, sovereign debts should be the primary sites of just reckoning and accountability. Separating transitional justice and sovereign debts abandons the principal reason for transitional justice, which is to serve citizens.

By reckoning with sovereign debts in transitional justice situations, we can transform the paradigm and inspire a decolonial (re)imagination of International Economic Law. This will help resolve the enduring puzzle of sovereign debts shielded with sanctified market veils such as pacta sunt servanda, party autonomy, and terse treaty interpretation. Using Africa as the standpoint, this Article suggests that a unified paradigm of transitional justice and sovereign debts will enhance socioeconomic justice, facilitate transparency, deepen democracy, and stimulate human flourishing in transitional societies.