22. Is There an Individual Right to Reparation? Some Thoughts on the ICJ Judgment in the Jurisdictional Immunities Case

Abstract

The possible existence of an individual right to reparation for victims of egregious breaches of human rights is among the most controversial questions in the law of State responsibility. Classically answered on the basis of theoretical preconceptions regarding the legal status of individuals under international law, the issue needs to be reappraised in its practical aspects in light of ongoing efforts to determine the legal regime of erga omnes obligations. Not surprisingly, the issue echoes constantly, even if mostly silently, in recent judgments of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and in the works of the ILC. In discussing the existence of an individual's right to reparation, one must confront the difficulty of interconnecting legal systems which apparently developed independently from each other, such as the law of State responsibility and the rules which establish mechanisms of enforcement of human rights protections. Keywords: individual right to reparation; International Court of Justice (ICJ); International law; State responsibility; Vienna Convention on consular relations