STATE IMMUNITY FOR ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES: EXAMPLE OF AN ODIOUS PUBLIC DEBT
STATE IMMUNITY FOR ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES: EXAMPLE OF AN ODIOUS PUBLIC DEBT

Summary/Abstract: The subject matter of analysis in this paper are the essential features of an odious public debt (loan) in contemporary monetary law. In this context, the first part of the paper focuses on the concept and basic functions of the public debt in the theory and practice of monetary management, where the author discusses the basic principles of public borrowing that ensure timely servicing of overdue monetary obligations and support fiscal responsibility and credibility of public loan subscribers. The second part of the paper deals with the concept of an odious public debt emission and its correlation with the state immunity for undertaking economic activities, which are indisputable in the field of fiscal and financial sovereignty but it raises the issue of responsibility of the public monetary agents (central banks and public debt management agencies) for the harm they may cause to others in their work. In particular, the analysis focuses on the need for a more extensive use of the doctrine of odious public debt as a means of protecting the creditors from subscribing to the so-called “odious” bonds of dictatorial state regimes. The author also points to the need for establishing an international judicial forum which would have the authority to prevent the effects of an odious public debt in a timely manner by ensuring an early detection of mala fides by the debtor state or extend the necessary period for examining such intentions prior to the conclusion of the contract. In the author’s view, this is a vital condition.

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