8 - Enforcement of International Law

Question 1

What us state responsibility?

Answer 1

It is a term used by international lawyers to denote the idea that some entity can be blamed for undesirable behaviour

Question 2

Chorzow Factory case

Answer 2

Deemed that the possibility of being held responsible was the price to pay for being able to participate in international law

Question 3

What are the two foundational principles of state responsibility?

Answer 3

Attribution and an internationally wrongful act

Question 4

What is attribution?

Answer 4

Attribution is the idea that states can be held responsible for acts attributable to them, they are held responsible for acts and omissions of state officials

Question 5

What happens if an state official acts outwith their power, is the state still responsible?

Answer 5

It is

Question 6

What is an internationally wrongful act?

Answer 6

An act which violates their international legal obligations

Question 7

What happened in the Tehran Hostages case?

Answer 7

Established that states may incur “indirect” responsibility - iran were responsible for not taking any steps to bring the situation to a speedy end

Question 8

What are the circumstances that preclude wrongfulness?

Answer 8

Consent of the other state
Self defence
Countermeasures
Force majeure
Distress
Necessity

Question 9

What is force majeure?

Answer 9

An irresistible force of an unforeseen event beyond the control of the state, making it impossible to observe the law

Question 10

What is distress?

Answer 10

Where an alternative exists but is unreasonable - for example landing on foreign territory to avoid crashing

Question 11

Necessity

Answer 11

Where the act is the only means to protect a vital state interest

Question 12

What are the consequences of an internationally wrongful act?

Answer 12

Cessation - where the responsible state is obliged to cease the act
Reparation - where the state must wipe out all the consequences of the illegal act and re-establish the situation which would have existed if the act had not been committed

Question 13

What are the 3 forms of reparation

Answer 13

Restitution
Compensation
Satisfaction

Question 14

What is restitution?

Answer 14

This is the main type of reparation - restitution is the cessation of a wrongful act

Question 15

What is compensation?

Answer 15

If there is no possibility of a return and restitution is impossible, states must “address the actual losses incurred as a result of the internationally wrongful act” - monetary

Question 16

What is satisfaction

Answer 16

An apology and acknowledgement of breach - normally in relation to moral damage that cannot be quantified so compensation is impossible