Introduction

Awarding compensation for moral damages has a long pedigree in public international law. One of the oldest cases cited for recoverability of compensation for such damages is the Lusitania case. This case arose out of the sinking of Lusitania, a British liner carrying passengers between New York and Liverpool, by a German submarine during World War I. Umpire Parker in that case held that the aggrieved party, under international law, could be compensated for: 'an injury inflicted resulting in mental suffering, injury to his feelings, humiliation, shame, degradation, loss of social ...