Public International Law Lecture Notes 2024 PDF

Public International Law call on Teams Week 8 Lecture : State Responsibility Anna Schmitt Nagelbach  Responsibility - agency, freedom brings obligations - consequences for not meeting those obligations Lecture 1...

Public International Law call on Teams Week 8 Lecture : State Responsibility Anna Schmitt Nagelbach  Responsibility - agency, freedom brings obligations - consequences for not meeting those obligations Lecture 1 Anna Schmitt Nagelbach State Responsibility breaches obligation that causes damage to State A State B For State Responsibility : 1) Obligation 2) Wrongful act (objective element) 3) Damage (material / immaterial) – debatable whether it is required 4) Attribution (subjective element) But who is ‘the state’? - legislative, executive, judicial branches - military - diplomatic missions All are made up of groups and individuals, who are the ones who commit the wrongful acts. - head of state - general - diplomat State Responsibility Pay compensation liability What is responsibility? accountability  general set of rules governing the international legal consequences of violations, by states, of their responsibility international legal obligations Legal proceedings (ICJ) Treaty obligation Is the state responsible? … A private individual and national of state A, Joe, owns property in state A. The borders change and now the property is in state B. State B takes the property from Joe and does not compensate him adequately. Is this an internationally wrongful act of State B against State A? Chorzow Factory (1927 PCIJ) Restitution (Restitutio integrim) - returning injured party to their situation before the damage took place Chorzow Factory (Jurisdiction) 1927 PCIJ o‘It is a principle of international law that the breach of an engagement involves an obligation to make reparation in an adequate form. Reparation therefore is the indispensible complement of a failure to apply a convention and there is no necessity for this to be stated in the Convention itself.’ oThe PCIJ’s observation regarding State Responsibility: “The essential principle contained in the actual notion of an illegal act is that 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.”  Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (2001) jjj Not a Treaty - The International Law Commission codified CIL here. Covers : - Attribution and - Wrongful acts ARSIWA Art. 1 “Every internationally wrongful act of a state entails the international responsibility of that state.” Art. 2 “There is an internationally wrongful act of a state when conduct consisting of an act or omission : a) is attributable to the state under IL; and b) constitutes a breach of an international obligation of the state Internationally wrongful act Could the Netherlands decide to build an underground train going directly from one Dutch town to another, through Belgium, without Belgium’s consent?  NO. violates territorial integrity of Belgium. Belgium’s territory extends under the ground, above in the air, and out from the coast of the sea. Internationally wrongful act CORFU CHANNEL CASE State responsibility for omission Albania knew about the mines, but did not sweep them or inform about the danger. Internationally wrongful act Is the Netherlands responsible if Jan, a Dutch citizen, murders Piet, a Belgian citizen, in the Netherlands? Neither represent either state. The Dutch police knew the murder was about to take place, but chose to be passive rather than try to prevent it?  As the police represent the state, that could make it more likely to mean The NL committed an internationally wrongful act. Iran Hostages case (1981) State agents did not take over the Embassy, but the state did not protect the embassy from the takeover, and did not act to fix the situation.  Responsibility of state Internationally wrongful act Is the Netherlands responsible for an internationally wrongful act against Belgium if Jan, a Dutch diplomat, murders Piet, a Belgian unemployed man, in a bar in Belgium? Maybe; if they claim that this act harmed the Netherlands. (Chorzo factory Germany claimed harm to Germany for not compensating a German for property) - due diligence (Did the NL know the murder would take place and not help prevent it?) Is Jan immune? (SEPARATE question from State Resp)  Jan was acting in his private capacity, not in his official function. Only with personal immunity could he be immune. ARSIWA Art. 4 on Attribution Whose acts? 1) “The conduct of any State organ shall be considered an act of that state under IL, whether legislative, executive, judicial, or any other functions, whatever position it holds in the organization of the State, and whatever its character as an organ of the central government or territorial unit of the State. 2) An organ includes any person or entity which has that status in accordance with the internal law of the State.” Rainbow Warrior Case (1985) Even without authorization from France, the agents were acting in their capacity as intelligence agents for France. So, France had responsibility.  Cessation and Reparation Art. 30 - 31 ARSIWA Art. 30 “The obligation of a State responsible for an internationally wrongful act to cease that act includes, in cases where continuing conduct is involved, a duty to bring that conduct to an end as rapidly as possible.” Art 31 full reparation Exception to SR Art. 23 ARSIWA Force Majeur Unforseen external event beyond state’s control that makes it impossible to meet an obligation  No state responsibility