Economic Policy Conditionality, Socio-Economic Rights and International Legal Responsibility: The Case of Greece 2010-2015

Abstract

This legal brief was prepared at the invitation of the Speaker of the Greek Parliament to inform the work of the Special Committee of the Hellenic Parliament on the Audit of the Greek Debt (Debt Truth Committee). It addresses key legal issues raised by the Memoranda of Understanding concluded by Greece in 2010 and 2012 that made the conditions for access to loans contingent upon the implementation of a range of measures aimed at fiscal consolidation. The brief systematically considers the international responsibility of the various creditors involved in the ensuing Greek social rights crisis. The economic arrangements that brought to bear the human catastrophe involved States, international organizations and other actors functioning in various formations. The authors unpack the actors and vehicles through which the conditionalities were imposed with the aim of determining legal responsibility for the human rights violations that have come to pass. To this end, the brief addresses: the Euro Area Member States, the European Commission, the European Central Bank, the Council of the European Union, the EU Member States, the International Monetary Fund, the Members States of the IMF, and Greece.

Keywords: Greece, austerity, international creditors, human rights, social rights, international responsibility