JURIST - Paper Chase: International arbitration commission splits Ethiopia-Eritrea border war damages

[JURIST] The specially-established Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission [official backgrounder] on Monday awarded damages [press release, PDF] "resulting from violations of international law" that occurred during the nations' 1998-2000 border war. The five-person panel established under the Permanent Court of Arbitration [official website] at The Hague awarded USD $174,036,520 to Ethiopia and $161,455,000 to Eritrea [awards, PDF], not including an additional $2,065,865 granted to individual Eritrean claimants. The nations had agreed to enter into binding arbitration on damages, and on Monday the Commission:

reiterate[d] its confidence that the Parties will ensure that the compensation awarded will be paid promptly, and that funds received in respect of their claims will be used to provide relief to their civilian populations injured in the war.

On Tuesday, Eritrean state media published the government's response to the order [Shabait report]:

the Government of Eritrea accepts the Award of the Claims Commission without any equivocation due to its final and binding nature under the Algiers Agreement. This is indeed consistent with Eritrea's track record of respecting arbitration decisions that emanate from its treaty obligations.

Eritrea officially separated from Ethiopia and became a recognized nation [CIA World Factbook] in 1993 after the Eritrean people voted for independence in a referendum overseen by the UN. The countries continued to dispute the demarcation between them, resulting in a two-year border war and an estimated 80,000 casualties. The conflict was brought to an end through UN intervention [UNMEE backgrounder].