State Responsibility
State Responsibility I
General Course of Public
International Law
What is State
Responsibility?
Draft Articles on Responsibility of States
for Internationally Wrongful Acts, 2001
Art. 1 :
Every Internationally wrongful act of a state entails
the international responsibility of that state
Basic principle
It may consist in one or more actions or omissions or a
combination of both
The ICJ has applied the principle in many cases :
Military and Paramilitary Case 1986
Corfu Channel Case 1949
Nicaragua Case 1986
Nicaragua V. the U.S.
the action conducted by the U.S., by laying mines in
territorial waters of Rep of Nicaragua, was indeed a
breach of its obligations under CIL:
Not to use force against another state
Not to intervene its affairs
Not to violate its sovereignty
Not to interrupt peaceful maritime commerce
The U.S. under an obligation to make reparation to
the Rep. of Nicaragua for all injury caused to
Nicaragua by the breaches of its obligations under
CIL
Corfu Channel Case 1949
UK v. Albania
UK
brought
the
case
claiming
compensation for damage caused by
mines to the Saumarez and the Volage
during their passage through the Corfu
Channel on 1946
Albania was responsible even though there
was no finding as to who had actually
What is State
Responsibility?
The articles only deal with the
responsibility of states
The articles do not cover the
responsibility of other int’l legal
person which special considerations
apply
Reparation for Injuries Case 1949
Reparation for Injuries Case
1949
The United Nations “is a subject of
international law and capable of possessing
international rights and duties… it has the
capacity to maintain its rights by bringing
international claims
Responsibility of the UN for the conduct of
its organs or agents
Responsibility for wrongful conduct basic
element in the possession of international
legal personality
General Principles
An act or omission imputable to it
produces a breach of an international
obligation arising from a treaty or
any other source of international law
International obligation is as broad as
international law
The law of the sea, human rights, the
use of force and treatment of aliens
Damage creates state
responsibility?
Classical int’l law would consider yes
since “no one could maintain an action
against the offending state unless he
had a direct legal interest arising from
the fact that he had been injured by
that state’s activities”
May no longer be necessary
Human rights violations
Damage creates state
responsibility?
ILC in 1973 states that actual
injury is not necessary to invoke
state responsibility human rights
law not damaging another state
but it is an internationally wrongful
act
Imputability
A state is liable for its own acts and
omissions
The state is identified with its
governmental
apparatus
which
includes the legislature, the judiciary,
the executive, local and central
authorities (art.4)
Rainbow Warrior Case
Rainbow Warrior Case 1990
France v. New Zealand
In 1985, French secret agents destroyed
the Rainbow Warrior, a ship belonging to
the Greenpeace environmental movement,
killing one of the crew, in the harbor of
New Zealand
France became internationally liable to pay
compensation to New Zealand for the
violation of its sovereignty
Acts of private individuals ?
A state is not responsible for the acts of
private individuals
Unless they were acting on behalf of that
state
Acts of individuals may also be
accompanied by some act or omission on
the part of the state which state is liable,
for example :
Encouraging individuals to attack foreigners
Ultra Vires Acts
An unlawful act may be imputed to the
state even where it was beyond the legal
capacity of the official involved (Art.7)
Art.91 of the 1949 Geneva Protocol I
Additional to the Geneva Conv “a party
to the conflict… shall be responsible for all
acts by persons forming part of its armed
forces”
the Youmans Claim (1926)
Youman’s Claim 1953
Mexico v. the U.S
Mexican militia was ordered to
protect threatened American Citizens
in a Mexican town
Instead joint the riot
Americans were killed
The unlawful acts were imputed to
the state of Mexico
Abuse of Rights
a state act is not wrongful under int’l
law and is done as a matter of right
but produces harmful consequences
Extreme
implementation
caused
damage to another state
For instance, the use of its own
territory to harm another
Reparation
Art. 31 :
The responsible state is under an obligation
to make full reparation for the injury caused
by the internationally wrongful act
Injury includes any damage, whether
material or moral, caused by the
internationally wrongful act of a state
Full reparation
Reparation
Factory at Chorzow, PCIJ, 1928
It is a principle of int’l law that the breach of an
engagement involves an obligation to make
reparation in an adequate form.
Reparation must as far as possible, wipe out all the
consequences of the illegal act and re-establish
the situation which would, in all probability, have
existed if that act had not been committed
Restitutio in integrum restoration of the original
position
Chorzow Factory Case
(1928)
Germany v. Poland
The illegal expropriation by Poland of a
factory at Chorzow
A contradiction to the Geneva
Convention of 1922 between Germany
and Poland
The court judged that the seizure of
property, rights, and interests which
could not be expropriated
Basis for responsibility
On the basis of an action :
On the basis of omission :
Diplomatic and Consular Staff Case
1980
Corfu Channel Case 1949
On the basis of both omission and
action
Diplomatic and Consular Staff
Case 1980
The U.S. vs. Iran
Iranian students and demonstrators together with the
Iranian Revolutionary Government seized the
American embassy and hostage the diplomatic agents
and its consular staff
The students discovered the documents, later
published by the Iranian Govt., that the embassy had
been for many years a “centre of espionage and
conspiracy”
The court voted unanimously for restitution by Iran of
US diplomatic and consular premises and property
presumably because these still were in existence and
could not be returned, and also voted for mandatory
reparations for additional injury
General Course of Public
International Law
What is State
Responsibility?
Draft Articles on Responsibility of States
for Internationally Wrongful Acts, 2001
Art. 1 :
Every Internationally wrongful act of a state entails
the international responsibility of that state
Basic principle
It may consist in one or more actions or omissions or a
combination of both
The ICJ has applied the principle in many cases :
Military and Paramilitary Case 1986
Corfu Channel Case 1949
Nicaragua Case 1986
Nicaragua V. the U.S.
the action conducted by the U.S., by laying mines in
territorial waters of Rep of Nicaragua, was indeed a
breach of its obligations under CIL:
Not to use force against another state
Not to intervene its affairs
Not to violate its sovereignty
Not to interrupt peaceful maritime commerce
The U.S. under an obligation to make reparation to
the Rep. of Nicaragua for all injury caused to
Nicaragua by the breaches of its obligations under
CIL
Corfu Channel Case 1949
UK v. Albania
UK
brought
the
case
claiming
compensation for damage caused by
mines to the Saumarez and the Volage
during their passage through the Corfu
Channel on 1946
Albania was responsible even though there
was no finding as to who had actually
What is State
Responsibility?
The articles only deal with the
responsibility of states
The articles do not cover the
responsibility of other int’l legal
person which special considerations
apply
Reparation for Injuries Case 1949
Reparation for Injuries Case
1949
The United Nations “is a subject of
international law and capable of possessing
international rights and duties… it has the
capacity to maintain its rights by bringing
international claims
Responsibility of the UN for the conduct of
its organs or agents
Responsibility for wrongful conduct basic
element in the possession of international
legal personality
General Principles
An act or omission imputable to it
produces a breach of an international
obligation arising from a treaty or
any other source of international law
International obligation is as broad as
international law
The law of the sea, human rights, the
use of force and treatment of aliens
Damage creates state
responsibility?
Classical int’l law would consider yes
since “no one could maintain an action
against the offending state unless he
had a direct legal interest arising from
the fact that he had been injured by
that state’s activities”
May no longer be necessary
Human rights violations
Damage creates state
responsibility?
ILC in 1973 states that actual
injury is not necessary to invoke
state responsibility human rights
law not damaging another state
but it is an internationally wrongful
act
Imputability
A state is liable for its own acts and
omissions
The state is identified with its
governmental
apparatus
which
includes the legislature, the judiciary,
the executive, local and central
authorities (art.4)
Rainbow Warrior Case
Rainbow Warrior Case 1990
France v. New Zealand
In 1985, French secret agents destroyed
the Rainbow Warrior, a ship belonging to
the Greenpeace environmental movement,
killing one of the crew, in the harbor of
New Zealand
France became internationally liable to pay
compensation to New Zealand for the
violation of its sovereignty
Acts of private individuals ?
A state is not responsible for the acts of
private individuals
Unless they were acting on behalf of that
state
Acts of individuals may also be
accompanied by some act or omission on
the part of the state which state is liable,
for example :
Encouraging individuals to attack foreigners
Ultra Vires Acts
An unlawful act may be imputed to the
state even where it was beyond the legal
capacity of the official involved (Art.7)
Art.91 of the 1949 Geneva Protocol I
Additional to the Geneva Conv “a party
to the conflict… shall be responsible for all
acts by persons forming part of its armed
forces”
the Youmans Claim (1926)
Youman’s Claim 1953
Mexico v. the U.S
Mexican militia was ordered to
protect threatened American Citizens
in a Mexican town
Instead joint the riot
Americans were killed
The unlawful acts were imputed to
the state of Mexico
Abuse of Rights
a state act is not wrongful under int’l
law and is done as a matter of right
but produces harmful consequences
Extreme
implementation
caused
damage to another state
For instance, the use of its own
territory to harm another
Reparation
Art. 31 :
The responsible state is under an obligation
to make full reparation for the injury caused
by the internationally wrongful act
Injury includes any damage, whether
material or moral, caused by the
internationally wrongful act of a state
Full reparation
Reparation
Factory at Chorzow, PCIJ, 1928
It is a principle of int’l law that the breach of an
engagement involves an obligation to make
reparation in an adequate form.
Reparation must as far as possible, wipe out all the
consequences of the illegal act and re-establish
the situation which would, in all probability, have
existed if that act had not been committed
Restitutio in integrum restoration of the original
position
Chorzow Factory Case
(1928)
Germany v. Poland
The illegal expropriation by Poland of a
factory at Chorzow
A contradiction to the Geneva
Convention of 1922 between Germany
and Poland
The court judged that the seizure of
property, rights, and interests which
could not be expropriated
Basis for responsibility
On the basis of an action :
On the basis of omission :
Diplomatic and Consular Staff Case
1980
Corfu Channel Case 1949
On the basis of both omission and
action
Diplomatic and Consular Staff
Case 1980
The U.S. vs. Iran
Iranian students and demonstrators together with the
Iranian Revolutionary Government seized the
American embassy and hostage the diplomatic agents
and its consular staff
The students discovered the documents, later
published by the Iranian Govt., that the embassy had
been for many years a “centre of espionage and
conspiracy”
The court voted unanimously for restitution by Iran of
US diplomatic and consular premises and property
presumably because these still were in existence and
could not be returned, and also voted for mandatory
reparations for additional injury