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So I am not familiar with international law, but a hypothetical -- Suppose some country got sued by an oil company and lost, and the president or prime ministe

So I am not familiar with international law, but a hypothetical -- Suppose some country got sued by an oil company and lost, and the president or prime minister of that country held a press conference, announced that they would not pay the judgment, and instead invited the oil company to go fuck themselves. Using those words, on national TV. What might plausibly happen next?

throwaway2048 4y ago
Generally speaking governments, unless bound by treaty (and not even then really) are completely free to ignore the results of (most) lawsuits https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_immunity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_immunity
- justatdotin 4y ago
  could be grounds for proposing relevant economic sanctions. the wisdom of taking this risk comes down to how dependent the sued nation is on broader economic cooperation with the guilty nation.
dgfitz 4y ago
Probably wouldn’t have much of a chance at buying oil.
ta988 4y ago
If the big oil company is from the US (and on a lesser measure an ally), it is likely the US would threaten that other country with diplomatic and economical sanctions.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
CameronNemo 4y ago
These ISDS entities only have teeth because of international trade agreements. Presumably the country that refused to pay the settlement would be in violation of the trade agreement, and would see immediate sanctions/tariffs.
- gowld 4y ago
  A country would only see sanctions if it harmed a foreign powerful country. When multinational companies are suing multiple countries, there's no incentive for the countries to sanction each other. ISDS provides barely-plausible deniability for giveaways from governments to billionaires.
InitialLastName 4y ago
If the oil company is one of the big players, it uses its political sway with OPEC and other major oil producers to ensure that the country doesn't get oil until they beg.
deleted 4y ago
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fennecfoxen 4y ago
Here’s one thing that could happen next: suits filed to seize the nation’s assets abroad, while the business and others like it leave the nation in question to its own devices. The consequences for the nation are unfortunate as the economy degrades. Case study: Venezuela. It didn’t go before this specific kind of court that I know of but they totally seized foreign oil companies’ assets. Their tankers, and tankers with their oil aboard, are subject to being impounded in some jurisdictions, to compensate those whose property was taken.
lmm 4y ago
Ignoring the matter of how it's worded, that sounds like a good way to start a trade war. I'd expect that oil company's "home" country to impose retalliatory tarrifs on products from the country that isn't paying the judgement. (Of course realpolitik considerations would be significant, but I think there's still a decent international consensus that thinks the rule of law is worth defending, even if it's weaker than it was)

throwaway2048 4y ago

Generally speaking governments, unless bound by treaty (and not even then really) are completely free to ignore the results of (most) lawsuits https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_immunity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_immunity

justatdotin 4y ago
could be grounds for proposing relevant economic sanctions. the wisdom of taking this risk comes down to how dependent the sued nation is on broader economic cooperation with the guilty nation.

dgfitz 4y ago

Probably wouldn’t have much of a chance at buying oil.

ta988 4y ago

If the big oil company is from the US (and on a lesser measure an ally), it is likely the US would threaten that other country with diplomatic and economical sanctions.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

CameronNemo 4y ago

These ISDS entities only have teeth because of international trade agreements. Presumably the country that refused to pay the settlement would be in violation of the trade agreement, and would see immediate sanctions/tariffs.

gowld 4y ago
A country would only see sanctions if it harmed a foreign powerful country. When multinational companies are suing multiple countries, there's no incentive for the countries to sanction each other. ISDS provides barely-plausible deniability for giveaways from governments to billionaires.

InitialLastName 4y ago

If the oil company is one of the big players, it uses its political sway with OPEC and other major oil producers to ensure that the country doesn't get oil until they beg.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

fennecfoxen 4y ago

Here’s one thing that could happen next: suits filed to seize the nation’s assets abroad, while the business and others like it leave the nation in question to its own devices. The consequences for the nation are unfortunate as the economy degrades. Case study: Venezuela. It didn’t go before this specific kind of court that I know of but they totally seized foreign oil companies’ assets. Their tankers, and tankers with their oil aboard, are subject to being impounded in some jurisdictions, to compensate those whose property was taken.

lmm 4y ago

Ignoring the matter of how it's worded, that sounds like a good way to start a trade war. I'd expect that oil company's "home" country to impose retalliatory tarrifs on products from the country that isn't paying the judgement. (Of course realpolitik considerations would be significant, but I think there's still a decent international consensus that thinks the rule of law is worth defending, even if it's weaker than it was)