Litigating War Mass Civil Injury and the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission

Litigating War offers an in-depth examination of the Claims Commission of the Eritrea-Ethiopia War, which was tasked with deciding, through binding arbitration, claims for losses, damages, and injuries resulting from the war. After providing an overview of the war, the authors describe how the Commission was established, the extent of its jurisdiction, and the applicable law on which it relied. They explain the types of evidentiary issues that the Commission faced, and the types of relief that it ultimately offered war victims. The book includes a description of each side's treatment of both enemy aliens and prisoners of war, and concludes with a discussion of the lessons that can be learned from the Claims Commission's process and performance.

Sean D. Murphy is the Patricia Roberts Harris Research Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School, and a Member of the U.N. International Law Commission. Professor Murphy received his B.A. from Catholic University of America, J.D. from Columbia University, LL.M. from Cambridge University, and S.J.D. from the University of Virginia. From 1987 to 1995, Professor Murphy served in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State, specializing in international environmental law, the law of war, and international claims. From July 1995 to July 1998, Professor Murphy served as the Legal Counselor of the U.S. Embassy in The Hague. Professor Murphy has represented several countries in international courts and tribunals, including Ethiopia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Suriname, and the United States. He has published articles in a variety of national and international law journals, and his books include Principles of International Law (2nd Edition, 2012) and Foreign Relations and National Security Law (with Franck, Glennon & Swaine, 4th Edition, 2012). Professor Murphy has served on the Board of Editors of the American Journal of International Law and is a Member of the U.N. International Law Commission.

Won Kidane is an Associate Professor of Law at the Seattle University School of Law. Professor Kidane earned his J.D. from the University of Illinois after obtaining LL.M in International and Comparative Law from the University of Georgia and LL.B from Addis Ababa University School of Law. From 2001 to 2005, Professor Kidane practiced international arbitration in Washington D.C. From 2005 to 2008, Professor Kidane taught at the Penn State Dickenson School of Law. Professor Kidane joined the faculty of the Seattle University School of Law in 2008 and has since been teaching international arbitration and litigation, among other courses. Kidane has published several law review articles and a book entitled: China-Africa Dispute Settlement: The Law, Economics and Culture of Arbitration (2011).

Thomas R. Snider is a Counsel in the international arbitration practice group at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in Washington D.C. Mr. Snider received his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. Since 2000, Mr. Snider has represented clients in a wide range of matters involving international dispute resolution, including state-to-state arbitration, international commercial arbitration, international investment disputes, and U.S. court litigation involving the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. He is the co-author, along with Professor Kidane, of Combating Corruption Through International Law in Africa: A Comparative Analysis, 40 Cornell International Law Journal 691 (2007).