A Justification of Compensation to the Descendants of Wronged Parties: An Intended Analogy

Public Affairs Quartly, Vol. 12, No. 4, p. 363, 1998

6 Pages Posted: 21 May 2009

See all articles by Andrew Askland

Andrew Askland

Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

Date Written: 1998

Abstract

Claims to compensation for injustices committed against one’s ancestors are not favored, either by law or morality, for defensible reasons. First, claims to compensation generally should relate to a specifiable injury suffered by the claimant. Second, when claims to compensation are derived from specifiable injuries suffered by someone other than the claimant, there are issues of intervening causation. This complicates a determination of how and to what extent the injury sustained by the wronged party affected the injury of the party claiming compensation. Third, as a matter of public policy, the passage of time should be appropriate grounds to cut off theories of liability except in extraordinary circumstances. In the context of a hypothetical situation, this paper discusses when society should assume a role in compensating the present day claimants for a past wrong suffered by an ancestor despite the concerns that disfavor delayed compensation.

Keywords: compensation, liability, remedies

Suggested Citation

Askland, Andrew, A Justification of Compensation to the Descendants of Wronged Parties: An Intended Analogy (1998). Public Affairs Quartly, Vol. 12, No. 4, p. 363, 1998, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1406701

Andrew Askland (Contact Author)

Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law ( email )

Box 877906
Tempe, AZ 85287-7906
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
35
Abstract Views
748
PlumX Metrics