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Crimes of State and the 1996 Report of the International Law Commission on State Responsibility
Derek William Bowett1
Full text available: PDF format *
Abstract
This article argues that Article 19 of the Draft Convention on State Responsibility, first adopted in 1976, presents a number of substantial problems relating to the definition of crimes of state, the appropriate organ for making decisions on when a crime of state has been committed, and the consequences of such a crime. The International Law Commission, in seeking to adopt a series of articles spelling out the consequences of Article 19 during its 1995 and 1996 sessions, recognized those inherent difficulties. A controversial debate ensued. The purpose of this paper is to set out and clarify the issues involved in this debate so that the question of how the concept of `crimes of state' should be accommodated in the new Draft Articles on State Responsibility may be effectively and conclusively answered.
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1. Emeritus Whewell Professor of International Law in the University
of Cambridge; Member of the International Law Commission, 1991-1996.
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