Book contents
PART ONE
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2011
Summary
The existence of Iraqi debt to foreign creditors, both governmental and private, seems beyond question; few developing countries, although blessed with substantial natural resources, could escape some degree of financial dependence on the developed countries of the world community. Apparently, the only debatable question in Iraq's case concerns the level of debt owed to foreign creditors. A purpose of Part One of this book on the legal considerations related to causes of action against Iraqi oil and oil revenues for debts owed by Iraq is to distill the information currently in the public domain regarding the extent of that nation's debt. Despite the fact that those estimates vary widely, it is clear that in all instances they fix total debt figures that are quite substantial, especially given the current economic needs faced by the Iraqi government. These needs reflect not only the years of infrastructure neglect witnessed during the Saddam Hussein regime but also the ravages of the Second Gulf War, as well as the civil unrest and ethnic and sectarian rivalry that followed it. The situation is further complicated by the fact that revenues resulting from oil and gas exports have yet to generate sufficient surplus national income to allow meaningful satisfaction of what is owed to creditors.
Part One also examines the early raised contention that much of what was owed by Iraq as a consequence of negotiations and dealings successfully undertaken during Saddam Hussein's regime with foreign governments and private parties should be characterized as “odious debt.”
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- Information
- Claims against Iraqi Oil and GasLegal Considerations and Lessons Learned, pp. 1 - 2Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010