5 Rules of Attribution

This chapter focuses on the rules of attribution. The State is not responsible for all acts and omissions of its nationals, but only for those which can be attributed to the State. It is thus necessary to establish this link between the State and the person, or persons, committing an unlawful act or omission. The legal principles used to establish this link are usually referred to as rules of attribution. The rules of attribution form part of the law of state responsibility, which, to a large part, is reflected in the work of the International Law Commission (ILC) of the United Nations. At its fifty-third session in 2001, the ILC adopted its final version of the ILC Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts. The ILC Articles are intended to cover all aspects of state responsibility under international law. The rules of attribution are laid down in Chapter II of the ILC Articles. From an Energy Charter Treaty perspective, Articles 4—8 are the most relevant ones. The central provision with respect to attribution is Article 4, which confirms the well-established principle of international law that the State is responsible for the acts of its own organs acting in the capacity of the State.

The Fortieth Session of the International Law Commission

10.2307/2202801 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 83 (1) ◽

pp. 153-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stephen C. Mccaffrey

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

International Law ◽

International Organizations ◽

State Responsibility ◽

Draft Code ◽

Peace And Security ◽

The Status ◽

International Liability ◽

The International Law Commission of the United Nations held its 40th session from May 9 to July 29, 1988, under the Chairmanship of Ambassador Leonardo Díaz-González. The Commission adopted 6 articles of the Draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind and 14 articles on the law of non-navigational uses of international watercourses. Substantial time was devoted to both international liability for injurious consequences arising out of acts not prohibited by international law and the status of the diplomatic courier and the diplomatic bag not accompanied by diplomatic courier. Reports on jurisdictional immunities of states and their property and state responsibility were introduced by the special rapporteurs for those topics but were not discussed by the Commission owing to lack of time. The remaining substantive item on the Commission’s agenda, relations between states and international organizations (second part of the topic), was not considered at this session. Finally, the Commission once again devoted substantial time to reviewing its procedures and methods of work.

Article 1 of the Draft Article on State Responsibility Which Was Adopted by the International Law Commission in 2001 Provides That: “Every International Wrongful Act of the State Entails the International Responsibility of that State': Discuss What is Considered a Wrongful Act and the Means of Reparation that are Available in International Law.

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.2177502 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Nur Nadiah Hamdan

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

The State ◽

State Responsibility ◽

Draft Article ◽

International Responsibility ◽

The Forty-Seventh Session Of The International Law Commission

10.2307/2203758 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 90 (1) ◽

pp. 106-115

Author(s):

Robert Rosenstock

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

International Law ◽

State Responsibility ◽

Draft Code ◽

Peace And Security ◽

State Succession ◽

The United Nations ◽

The Law ◽

The International Law Commission of the United Nations held its forty-seventh session from May 2 to July 20, 1995, under the chairmanship of Pemmaraju S. Rao of India. The Commission continued its work on existing topics and considered aspects of the Draft Code of Crimes against die Peace and Security of Mankind, state responsibility, and liability for injurious consequences arising out of acts not prohibited by international law. The Commission began work on the two new topics of “state succession and its impact on the nationality of natural and legal persons” (“nationality“) and “the law and practice relating to reservations to treaties” (“reservations“) and made a recommendation as to two additional topics for its future agenda.

The Forty-First Session of the International Law Commission

10.2307/2203386 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 83 (4) ◽

pp. 937-945 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stephen C. McCaffrey

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

International Law ◽

International Organizations ◽

General Assembly ◽

State Responsibility ◽

Peace And Security ◽

The Status ◽

International Liability ◽

The International Law Commission of the United Nations held its 41st session from May 2 to July 21, 1989, under the Chairmanship of Professor Bernhard Graefrath. The most noteworthy achievement of the session was the completion of work on the status of the diplomatic courier and the diplomatic bag not accompanied by diplomatic courier. The Commission referred this draft to the General Assembly with the recommendation that the Assembly convoke a diplomatic conference for the purpose of concluding a convention on the basis of the articles. Also at the 41st session, the Commission adopted three articles of the Draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind and discussed reports on state responsibility, international liability for injurious consequences arising out of acts not prohibited by international law, jurisdictional immunities of states and their property, and the law of the non-navigational uses of international watercourses. A report on relations between states and international organizations was presented to the Commission but was not discussed for lack of time. Finally, the Commission once again devoted a number of meetings to reviewing its procedures and methods of work.

From Theory to Practice: Exploring the Relevance of the Draft Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations (DARIO)—The Responsibility of the WTO and the UN

German Law Journal ◽

10.1017/s2071832200020630 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 511-541 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Noemi Gal-Or ◽

Cedric Ryngaert

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

International Law ◽

International Organizations ◽

Future Development ◽

The State ◽

Public International Law ◽

Theory To Practice ◽

The Subject ◽

In 2002, the United Nations (UN) International Law Commission (ILC) decided to include the subject of the responsibility of international organizations (IOs) in its program of work. By 2011, the Commission adopted sixty-six draft articles with commentaries, known as the Draft Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations (DARIO). The adoption of the DARIO represents an enterprise of revolutionary implications for public international law and the future development of both international law and global relations and governance. It may leverage the international personality of the IO to a status previously unknown, particularly when compared to the supreme international actor, the State.

The Case for a Convention on State Responsibility

Nordic Journal of International Law ◽

10.1163/15718107-08304003 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 83 (4) ◽

pp. 439-475 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Laurence T. Pacht

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

International Law ◽

Public Space ◽

General Assembly ◽

State Responsibility ◽

Main Argument ◽

The Public ◽

Law Commission ◽

Do So

At the time of adopting the Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, in 2001, the International Law Commission recommended, inter alia, that the General Assembly of the United Nations consider the possibility of negotiating a convention on the basis of the Articles. On four occasions, since 2001, the member states in the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly have been divided on whether to do so. Nonetheless, the most recent such debate, held in 2013, revealed a strong undercurrent of support among the states for convening a diplomatic conference to negotiate a treaty. However, this trend is not reflected in much of what has been written and argued in the public space, which has been almost entirely in opposition to a convention. The main argument for such opposition has been that a treaty negotiation would set back the development of the law either through the adoption of a flawed text or through failure to reach agreement. The present article seeks to scrutinise the viability of such a prognosis, by both responding to the arguments made against a treaty negotiation and by offering some reasons for supporting the negotiation of a convention on the responsibility of states for internationally wrongful acts.

The Forty-ninth Session of the International Law Commission

10.2307/2998070 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 92 (1) ◽

pp. 107-112

Author(s):

Robert Rosenstock

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

International Law ◽

State Responsibility ◽

Diplomatic Protection ◽

Working Groups ◽

The United Nations ◽

International Liability ◽

The International Law Commission of the United Nations held its forty-ninth session in Geneva from May 12 to July 18, 1997, under the chairmanship of Professor Alain Pellet of France. The Commission concluded its first reading of a draft declaration on nationality in relation to the succession of states; adopted preliminary conclusions on a key element of the topic of reservations to treaties; and appointed new special rapporteurs for state responsibility, international liability for injurious consequences of acts not prohibited by international law, unilateral acts of states, and diplomatic protection. The Commission also established working groups on each of these topics.

Hecho ilícito internacional = International Wrongful Act

EUNOMÍA Revista en Cultura de la Legalidad ◽

10.20318/eunomia.2017.3823 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 13 ◽

pp. 271

Author(s):

Pietro Sferrazza Taibi

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

The State ◽

State Responsibility ◽

International Responsibility ◽

Constituent Elements ◽

The Impact ◽

Resumen: En este trabajo se abordará un análisis dogmático de la noción de hecho internacionalmente ilícito en el marco de la responsabilidad internacional del Estado. Sin duda, se trata de una noción clave, dado que su configuración en un caso concreto activa la funcionalidad del resto de los capítulos de la responsabilidad internacional del Estado. En este trabajo se explicará la incidencia que ha tenido la distinción entre normas primarias y normas secundarias para la construcción del concepto de hecho internacionalmente ilícito. Asimismo, se abordará un análisis de cada uno de los dos elementos constitutivos del hecho internacionalmente ilícito, a saber, la ilicitud y la imputabilidad.Palabras clave: Responsabilidad internacional del Estado, hecho internacionalmente ilícito, Comisión de Derecho Internacional, ilicitud, imputabilidad/atribución, normas primarias/normas secundariasAbstract: This paper will deal with a dogmatic analysis of the notion of internationally wrongful acts within the framework of the international responsibility of the State. Undoubtedly, this is a key notion, since its configuration in one case activates the functionality of the rest of the chapters of the State's international responsibility. The paper will explain the impact of the distinction between primary and secondary rules for the construction of the concept of internationally wrongful act. It will also address an analysis of each of the two constituent elements of the internationally wrongful act, namely, breach and attribution.Keywords: International State responsibility, internationally wrongful act, International Law Commission, breach, imputation/attribution, primary rules/secondary rules.

Marchal, Lemaire and Dewez v. Mukeshimana-Ngulinzira and Others; Belgian State v. Mukeshimana-Ngulinzira and Others

International Law Reports ◽

10.1017/ilr.2021.37 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 195 ◽

pp. 179-218

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

International Law ◽

Armed Conflict ◽

Effective Control ◽

State Responsibility ◽

Content Type ◽

Peacekeeping Operations ◽

United Nations Peacekeeping ◽

179State responsibility — Imputability — International Law Commission Articles on State Responsibility — International Law Commission Draft Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations — Imputability in context of United Nations peacekeeping operations — Responsibility of troop-contributing countries — Ultimate control — Effective controlWar and armed conflict — Non-international armed conflict — United Nations — Peacekeeping — United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), 1993 — Rwandan genocide — The law of Belgium

State Responsibility in the Light of the New Trends of International Law

10.2307/2194863 ◽

1955 ◽

Vol 49 (3) ◽

pp. 339-346 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

F. V. García-Amador

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

International Law ◽

General Assembly ◽

State Responsibility ◽

The United Nations ◽

Regular Session ◽

During its eighth regular session, the General Assembly of the United Nations considered “that it is desirable for the maintenance and development of peaceful relations between States that the principles of international law governing State responsibility be codified.” To this end, the Assembly requested the International Law Commission to undertake the codification of these principles. The Tenth Inter-American Conference, held in Caracas March 1–28, 1954, adopted a similar resolution.