2015
The rapid and increasing outsourcing of security services by states to Private Security Companies (PSCs) in recent years and associated human rights violations have served as one of the catalysts for long overdue regulation of the global PSC industry. As … Read more
2015
International law presently addresses the unique challenge to international peace and security posed by trans-national terrorism through two frameworks of responsibility: first, individual criminal responsibility; second, state responsibility. These two frameworks of responsibility are not mutually exclusive and this article … Read more
2015
Modern armed conflicts are characterised by numerous interactions between armed opposition groups and other actors (states, international organisations, other non-state actors etc.). Some of these interactions result in harmful outcomes that cannot be easily attributed to a single actor. Issues … Read more
2015
This article begins with an analysis of the concept of responsibility elaborated in the jurisprudence of Francisco de Vitoria. It is argued that Vitoria’s concept of responsibility plays a central role in his construction of an international legal framework for … Read more
2015
The relationship between public international law and multinational enterprises (MNEs) has over the last decades emerged as one of the most hotly debated topics in theory and practice. Arguments have often been voiced for the creation of international law obligations … Read more
2015
International criminal trials are often contentious in the countries where the alleged crimes took place, and participation in them can place witnesses at risk. Where the risk to a witness is particularly severe, it may not be possible for that … Read more
2014
Maritime piracy is an ancient problem that harms, either directly or indirectly, many states as well as non-state actors. Although the law on piracy seems in principle adequately equipped to deal with the problem, states have not been able to … Read more
2014
When do subjects of international law bear responsibility for the acts of others? It is often a question of control. Control is an essential element of the doctrine of attribution, defining the legal relationship between states, international organisations (‘IOs’), and … Read more
2014
In this article, I address the question of the grounds on which an international court that is asked to determine the responsibility of a state and the possible consequences thereof should attach weight to prior judicial findings by different courts … Read more
2013
In this article the question will be explored that was raised, but not fully addressed, in the Questions relating to the Obligation to Prosecute or Extradite (Belgium v Senegal) case: does a state that has custody over a person who is … Read more
2013
Every new mass atrocity tends to provoke a critique of outside actors that failed to protect populations. Many observers are no longer content with condemning perpetrators and extend their moral outrage to bystanders who should have done more. However, from … Read more
2013
This short article sheds some light on the difficulties inherent in the application of international responsibility mechanisms to situations of authorized regional uses of force. It shows the extent to which the double institutional veil that characterizes these situations comes … Read more
2013
The first section of this paper will briefly describe the plea made by the European Union for recognition of special rules of responsibility for regional economic integration organizations, with an emphasis on rules on attribution (Part 1). The paper will … Read more
2013
The procedural rules of international courts are key to the ability of such courts to adjudicate questions of shared responsibility. These procedural rules, as well as the practice of international courts, vary widely and have not yet been subject of … Read more
2013
This paper considers the question of responsibility for omissions of the Quartet on the Middle East. The Quartet was created to assist in the peace process between Israel and Palestine. Its core document is the Roadmap, but in recent years … Read more
2012
The concept of shared responsibility seeks to capture the situation where a multiplicity of actors contribute towards a single harmful outcome. This paper examines the procedural aspects of shared responsibility as they appear in the United Nations Convention on the … Read more
2012
International arbitration is a particularly suitable dispute resolution mechanism for addressing shared responsibility issues, due to its flexible procedural rules allowing for a multitude of parties, including States and non-State actors. This paper analyses six procedural rule-sets (UNCITRAL, PCA, ICSID, … Read more
2012
This article explores how the European Court of Human Rights handles human rights complaints that involve multiple responsible entities and how its procedural organisation influences its capability to allocate responsibility amongst different entities. It identifies to what extent relevant procedural … Read more
2012
An international actor is responsible under international law when an act attributable to it causes a breach of an obligation by which it is bound. Sometimes third party actors can share elements of that responsibility. At the one end of … Read more
2012
In recent years, the International Court of Justice has been increasingly asked to adjudicate upon claims of State responsibility that raise or at least touch upon the possibility of international responsibility of multiple entities. In different substantive contexts, these cases … Read more
2012
It is against the backdrop of the conceptual impairment inherited from the Articles on State Responsibility (hereafter ASR) that this note, rather than zeroing in on what could have been better devised at the micro-level of the Articles on the … Read more
2012
In view of the adoption and future reception of the Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations (ARIO) on second reading, this contribution seeks to offer some reflections on the ‘copy-paste narrative’ that has characterized the process of drafting the … Read more
2012
International adjudication is a small, but not irrelevant, component in the complex international governance structure through which states and other actors seek to deliver global public goods. This article explores the plurality of connections between the procedural law of international … Read more
2012
This article offers some reflections on the way in which the ILC Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations (ARIO) have addressed the responsibility of international organizations for conduct of member States implementing their normative acts. The ILC has chosen … Read more
2012
This paper explores the phenomenon of the sharing of international responsibilities among multiple actors who contribute to injury to third parties. It examines the manifestations of shared responsibility, identifies the normative questions that it raises, assesses its possible consequences for … Read more
2012
In Nuhanović and Mustafić (5 July 2011), the Court of Appeal of The Hague held the Netherlands liable under Bosnian torts law in relation to acts of Dutchbat in the days following the fall of Srebrenica. The claims were brought … Read more
2012
This paper discusses the role of the so-called “rules of the organization” in the draft Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations (DARIO), adopted by the International Law Commission (ILC) on first reading. While the rules of the organization occupy … Read more
2012
In July 2011, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held in Al-Jedda v. United Kingdom (link) that the UK was responsible for the misconduct of its troops deployed as part of the UN-authorized Multinational Force in … Read more
2011
On 5 July 2011 the Court of Appeal of The Hague held that the state of the Netherlands had acted unlawfully and is liable, under Dutch law, for evicting four Bosnian nationals from the compound of Dutchbat in Srebrenica on … Read more
2007
This Article makes the argument that when member states abuse the international legal personality of an international organization through the exercise of an excessive control over the decision-making process of the organization, they must be held, together with the organization, … Read more
2007
This article examines some of the fundamental questions that would arise in litigation on liability for climate change, covering both domestic and international liability law. It sketches some of the questions and issues that would have to be dealt with … Read more