STATE RESPONSIBILITY [Agenda item 2] DOCUMENT A/CN.4/490 and Add. 1–7* First report on State responsibility, by Mr. James Crawford, Special Rapporteur [Original: English and French] [24 April, 1, 5, 11 and 26 May, 22 and 24 July, 12 August 1998] CONTENTS Page Multilateral instruments cited in the present report ............................................................................................... 3 Works cited in the present report .......................................................................................................................... 4 Paragraphs INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 1–42 5 A. Outline of the work of the Commission on State responsibility ........................................ 1–6 5 B. Scope of the present report ................................................................................................ 7 5 C. Comments received so far on the draft articles.................................................................. 8–9 5 D. Some general issues ........................................................................................................... 10–42 6 1. Distinction between “primary” and “secondary” rules of State responsibility ............. 12–18 6 2. Issues excluded or insufficiently developed ................................................................. 19–26 7 3. Relationship between the draft articles and other rules of international law ................ 27 8 4. Inclusion of detailed provisions on countermeasures and dispute settlement .............. 28–38 8 5. Eventual form of the draft articles ................................................................................ 39–42 9 Chapter I. THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN “CRIMINAL” AND “DELICTUAL” RESPONSIBILITY ................................ 43–95 9 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 43–45 9 A. The treatment of State crimes in the draft articles ............................................................. 46–51 10 B. Comments of Governments on State crimes ...................................................................... 52–54 11 C. Existing international law on the criminal responsibility of States ................................... 55–59 14 D. Relations between the international criminal responsibility of States and certain cognate concepts ............................................................................................................................. 60–69 16 1. Individual criminal responsibility under international law ........................................... 61 16 2. Peremptory norms of international law (jus cogens) .................................................... 62 17 3. Obligations erga omnes ................................................................................................ 63–69 17 E. Possible approaches to international crimes of States........................................................ 70–95 18 1. Two preliminary issues .................................................................................................. 72–75 19 2. Consideration of the alternatives .................................................................................. 76–93 19 (a) The status quo......................................................................................................... 76–80 19 (b ) Substituting for “international crime” the notion of “exceptionally serious wrongful act”.......................................................................................................... 81–82 21 *Incorporating documents A/CN.4/490/Add.2/Corr.1, A/CN.4/490/Add.4/Corr.1 and A/CN.4/490/Add.7/Corr.1. 1 2 Documents of the fiftieth session Chapter Paragraphs Page (c) Criminalizing State responsibility ........................................................................... 83–86 21 (d) Excluding the possibility of State crimes ................................................................ 87–90 22 (e) Decriminalizing State responsibility ....................................................................... 91–93 23 3. Recommendation .......................................................................................................... 94–95 23 II. REVIEW OF DRAFT ARTICLES IN PART ONE (OTHER THAN ARTICLE 19) ........................................... 96–284 24 A. Preliminary issues .............................................................................................................. 96–103 24 1. Questions of terminology .............................................................................................. 97–99 24 2. General and savings clauses .......................................................................................... 100–103 26 B. Part one, chapter I. General principles (arts. 1–4) ............................................................. 104–139 26 1. Article 1 (Responsibility of a State for its internationally wrongful acts) .................... 105–126 27 (a) General observations ............................................................................................... 105–107 27 (b) A general requirement of fault or damage? ............................................................. 108–118 27 (c) Relationship between internationally wrongful conduct and injury to other States or persons ................................................................................................................ 119–125 30 (d) Recommendation .................................................................................................... 126 31 2. Article 2 (Possibility that every State may be held to have committed an internationally wrongful act) .................................................................................................................. 127–130 31 ( a) Observations............................................................................................................ 127–129 31 (b) Recommendation .................................................................................................... 130 31 3. Article 3 (Elements of an internationally wrongful act of a State) ............................... 131–135 31 ( a) Observations............................................................................................................ 131–134 31 (b) Recommendation .................................................................................................... 135 32 4. Article 4 (Characterization of an act of a State as internationally wrongful) ............... 136–139 32 ( a) Observations............................................................................................................ 136–138 32 (b) Recommendation .................................................................................................... 139 32 C. Part one, chapter II. The “act of the State” under international law (arts. 5–15)................ 140–284 32 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 140–155 32 (a) Questions of terminology ........................................................................................ 146–147 33 (b) Comments of Governments on chapter II as a whole ............................................. 148–153 33 (c) Basic principles underlying the notion of attribution .............................................. 154–155 33 2. Review of specific articles ............................................................................................ 156–283 34 ( a) Article 5 (Attribution to the State of the conduct of its organs) .............................. 156–165 34 ( b) Article 6 (Irrelevance of the position of the organ in the organization of the State 166–179 36 ( c) Article 7 (Attribution to the State of the conduct of other entities empowered to exercise elements of the government authority) ...................................................... 180–191 37 ( d) Article 8 (Attribution to the State of the conduct of persons acting in fact on behalf of the State) .................................................................................................. 192–218 39 i i(i) Persons acting in fact on behalf of the State .................................................... 195–213 39 (ii) Agents of necessity: the exercise of State powers in the absence of the State 214–218 43 (e ) Article 9 (Attribution to the State of the conduct of organs placed at its disposal by another State or by an international organization) ............................................. 219–231 44 ( f) Article 10 (Attribution to the State of the conduct of organs acting outside their competence or contrary to instructions concerning their activity).......................... 232–240 46 ( g) Article 11 (Conduct of persons not acting on behalf of the State) .......................... 241–245 48 ( h) Article 12 (Conduct of organs of another State) ..................................................... 246–252 49 ( i) Article 13 (Conduct of organs of an international organization) ............................. 253–259 50 ( j) Article 14 (Conduct of organs of an insurrectional movement)/Article 15 (Attribution to the State of the act of an insurrectional movement which becomes the new Government of a State or which results in the formation of a new State) .... 260–277 51 (k) Subsequent adoption of conduct by