PUBLIC LAW II:
Public International
Law
Prof. Dr. Gleider Hernández
Professor of Public International
Law Institute for
International Law Faculty of
Law, KU Leuven
2019-2020
,Structure of lecture
• Classification and characterisation
o General principles of State responsibility
• I. Breach of an international obligation of a
State
o Fault, injury, and damage
o Responsibility under national law
• II. Attribution of conduct to a State
o Organs of a State
o Other entities
• Defences to State responsibility
o Circumstances precluding wrongfulness
o Countermeasures
• Reparations and other remedies
2
• Aggravated State responsibility
, Defining State responsibility
• State responsibility as the rules governing the
attribution of wrongful conduct, for a breach
of international law, to a State
• Question of imputability and the ability for
international law to ensure its rules are
respected
• Enforcement is a major problem both
conceptually and practically
• Principle: violation of a rule by a State should
entail legal responsibility of a State
3
Public International
Law
Prof. Dr. Gleider Hernández
Professor of Public International
Law Institute for
International Law Faculty of
Law, KU Leuven
2019-2020
,Structure of lecture
• Classification and characterisation
o General principles of State responsibility
• I. Breach of an international obligation of a
State
o Fault, injury, and damage
o Responsibility under national law
• II. Attribution of conduct to a State
o Organs of a State
o Other entities
• Defences to State responsibility
o Circumstances precluding wrongfulness
o Countermeasures
• Reparations and other remedies
2
• Aggravated State responsibility
, Defining State responsibility
• State responsibility as the rules governing the
attribution of wrongful conduct, for a breach
of international law, to a State
• Question of imputability and the ability for
international law to ensure its rules are
respected
• Enforcement is a major problem both
conceptually and practically
• Principle: violation of a rule by a State should
entail legal responsibility of a State
3
