PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW

DUTIES OF STATES
To refrain from intervention in the internal or external affairs of any other
States. (Art. 3)
To refrain from fomenting civil strife in the territory of another State, and to
prevent the organization within its territory of activities calculated to foment
such civil strife. (Art. 4)
To treat all persons under its jurisdiction with respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms, without distinction as to race, sex, language and
religion. (Art. 6)
To ensure that conditions prevailing in its territory do not menace
international peace and order. (Art. 7)
To settle its disputes with other States by peaceful means in such a manner
that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered. (Art.
8)
To refrain from resorting to war as an instrument of national policy and to
refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or
political independence of another State, or in any other manner inconsistent
with International Law and order. (Art. 9)
To refrain from giving assistance to any State which is acting in violation of
Art. 9, or against which the United Nations is taking preventive or
enforcement action. (Art. 10)
To refrain from recognizing any territorial acquisition by another State acting
in violation of Art. 9 (Art. 11)
To carry out in good faith its obligations arising from treaties and other
sources of International Law and it may not invoke provisions in its
constitution or its laws as an excuse for failure to perform this duty. (Art. 13)
To conduct its relations with other States in accordance with International Law
and with the principle that the sovereignty of each State is subject to the
supremacy of International Law. (Art. 14)
What are obligations erga omnes?
Obligations erga omnes (Latin, in relation to everyone) are
obligations owed by States towards international community.
E.g.:
Prohibition of aggression
Prohibition of genocide, piracy, slavery and racial
discrimination
Protection of human rights
Obligation relating to self-preservation

 Obligations relating to the environment

STATE RESPONSIBILITY
Is a state responsible for an internationally wrongful act?
YES. Every internationally wrongful act of a state entails the international
responsibility of that State. (Article I, Responsibility of States for Internationally
Wrongful Acts, adopted by the International Law Commission at its 53 rd Sessions in
2001, appears in the annex to General Assembly resolution 56/83 of 12 December
2001)
What are the elements of an internationally wrongful act?
An act or omission:
Is attributable to the State under International Law: and
Constitutes a breach of an international obligation of the state
What conducts are attributable to the states?
In Chapter 2 of the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, the
following conducts are considered as acts of state:
a. Conduct of any of its organs (ELJ)
b. Conduct of a person or entity which is empowered by the law of the state to
exercise governmental authority
c. Conduct of a person or group of persons that is in fact acting on the
instructions of, or under the direction or control of, that State in carrying out
the conduct.
d. Conduct of a person or group of persons that is in fact exercising
governmental authority in the absence or default of the official authorities
and in circumstances such as to call for the exercise of that authority.
e. To conduct a movement, insurrection or other which succeeds in establishing
a new State in part of the territory of a pre-existing State or in a territory
under its administration, shall be considered as an act of a new State.
f.

Conduct which the State acknowledges and adopts as its own.

Is the State responsible for losses incurred by aliens in times of civil war?
The general principle is that a state is NOT responsible for losses incurred by aliens
in time of civil war. This is known as the CALVO DOCTRINE (named after Argentine
Jurist Carlos Calvo). He reasoned that a state could not accept responsibility for
losses suffered by foreigners as a result of civil war because to admit such
responsibility would be to menace the independence of weaker states by subjecting
them to the intervention of strong states, and would establish an unjustifiable
inequality between nations and foreigners.

When is a state responsible for the wrongful act of another state?

It directs and controls another state in the commission of internationally
wrongful act
It aids or assists another state in the commission of an internationally
wrongful act
It coerces another state to commit an internationally wrongful act

What are the circumstances that preclude the wrongfulness of an

international act?
The affected state has given a valid consent
Self-defense
Countermeasures
Force majeure
An act in situation of distress where the state has no reasonable way of
saving the lives of persons entrusted to its care
Act was necessary and it is the only way for the State to safeguard an
essential interest against a grave and imminent peril.
Compliance with jus cogens or preemtory norms.
What are the forms of reparations that may be imposed on a state committing an
internationally wrongful act?
Restitution obligation to re-establish the situation which existed before the
wrongful act was committed, provided it is not materially impossible.
Compensation obligation to compensate for the damage caused
Satisfaction if injury cannot be made good by restitution or compensation. It
may consist in an acknowledgment of the breach, an expression of regret, a
formal apology or another appropriate modality.
When is breach of an obligation under International Law serious?
If it involves a gross or systemic failure by the responsible states to fulfill the
obligation.
DE JURE VS. DE FACTO GOVERNMENT
De jure government is lawfully in power even though it retains little actual
power.
De facto government is impliedly a government which is in control but
illegally so
Kinds of de facto government
Government de facto in a proper legal sense, is that government that gets
possession and control of, or usurps, by force or by the voice of the majority,

the rightful legal government and maintains itself against the will of the
latter.
Government of paramount force which is established and maintained by
military forces who invade and occupy a territory of the enemy in the course
of war.
That established as an independent government by the inhabitants of a
country who rise in insurrection against the parent state.
STATE CONTINUITY
Once the identity of a state as an international person has been fixed and its
position in the international community established, the state continues to be
the same corporate person whatever changes may take place in its internal
organization and government.
This continuity of the legal personality of the state may withstand even the
most radical transformations in its constitution.
STATE SUCCESSION
The shift of responsibility over a territory from one state to another state. This is to
be distinguished from a change in government or regime within an established
state, as takes place for example with a social revolution or an election. Succession
affects the legal identity of a state and its treaty obligations. Succession occurs with
secession of states, annexation, merger and consolidation and decolonization.
Kinds of State Succession
UNIVERSAL when one state completely absorbs the international personality
of another state and thereby becomes the sole representative at law of the
rights and obligations of the latter state.
PARTIAL when an existing state takes over, whether by force or voluntary
cession, the sovereignty of a portion of territory formerly belonging to
another state.
CLEAN SLATE DOCTRINE
A newly-independent state begins it existence free of the obligations of its
predecessor state. It is based on the principle that a state is only bound by treaties
to which it consents.