Do Caribbean countries have standing against colonial countries for slave reparations?

Question

A new lawsuit is being filed in the International Court at Haugue for slave reparations.

Fourteen Caribbean countries that once sustained that slave economy now want Mr. Hague to put his money where his mouth is.

Spurred by a sense of injustice that has lingered for two centuries, the countries plan to compile an inventory of the lasting damage they believe they suffered and then demand an apology and reparations from the former colonial powers of Britain, France and the Netherlands.

When Britain abolished slavery, it compensated those people who suffered a direct loss.

Though Parliament abolished the Atlantic slave trade in 1807, the law took years to put into effect. In 1833, Parliament spent £20 million compensating former slave owners —40 percent of government expenditure that year, according to estimates by Nick Draper of University College, London, who estimates the present-day value at $21 billion.

• Do International courts require standing, and do all fourteen countries have standing as plaintiffs?

• Why are Britain, France, or the Netherlands being asked to pay slave reparations as defendants?

Answer 1

• Do The International Court at Hague require standing?

Yes. At least in this case. For the defendants to have to pay reparations to the countries in question, they will have to show that they suffered damage or injustice. They also have to be states (which they are).

• Do all fourteen countries have standing as plaintiffs?

That's up to the court to decide.

• Why are Britain, France, or the Netherlands being asked to pay slave reparations as defendants?

Because they were the main slave traders.

Answer 2

ICJ Cases

Cases in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) are not quite like court cases in most domestic courts. According to their website, the court can only hear cases between states when the states have agreed to submit their dispute to the court. Both sides must agree to this.

Parties must be states who are current members of the United Nations, parties to the Statute of the Court, or have accepted the ICJ's jurisdiction in some other way.

I didn't see a list of parties involved in the source article, but they are probably members of the United Nations and therefore can participate in an ICJ case.

The Claim and Defendents

To be clear - the Caribbean nations are not asking for reparations for historical harm. They are claiming that the current state of their nation is due to the past harm that was never made whole (source). This removes many difficulties with attempting to sue over past actions (which have been mentioned in other questions and comments).

These three countries are named as defendants because of their historical connection to the slave trade.

Answer 3

Any state which is a member of the United Nations can bring a case before the International Court of Justice. The terms of what kind of cases it can try is wide, essentially being any disputes between countries regarding international law.

Lawsuits are brought for many reasons, international ones as well as local. Possible reasons might include: the plaitiffs think they deserve reparations; they think they can win; they want to generate publicity for a perceived wrongdoing. Any or all of these might apply.