Fiction, fear, and fallacy: compound interest in national law and international arbitration (Ph.D. Thesis)

This work in compound interest takes a close look at scenarios that involve an agreement which includes compound interest and those that claim such interest as reimbursement for a broken contract. The topic is first discussed as viewed by the Western and Islamic legal practices. The study argues that there are certain fundamental difficulties regarding interest that make compound interest such a complex issue. For instance, English courts cannot award this interest as compensation, French legal authorities limit the amount of the interest to protect debtors, and some Islamic schools use the idea of riba to reject all forms of interest. As the author says, the core concern is 'how to reconcile the demands of modern commerce with the need to protect debtors.' The work concludes by refuting the notion that compound interest is inherently wrong in international arbitration because of the unique conditions of and parties in international dealings.