The international responsibility of states for breach of multilateral obligations

Abstract

This article deals with the three main questions related to the violation of multilateral obligations in international law: definition of those obligations, the elements constituting a violation, and the effects of the latter. Observing that many obligations in international law, both in treaties and in customary international law, bind several states, or all states, in their mutual relations, thus creating parallel bilateral obligations, the author is of the opinion that they do not all correspond to the specific definition of 'multilateral obligations', but only those the violation of which is of concern for the international community. The violation of those multilateral obligations leads to state responsibility according to the normal, ordinary elements of responsibility: attribution to the state and violation of an obligation. There is no additional criterion. The quantitative element is merely relevant with respect to the reaction of other states. The breach of a multilateral obligation gives to the injured state the normal rights of the 'victim', whereas the other states are not 'victims' but are entitled to take measures aiming at the cessation of a conduct in breach of that obligation, without prejudice of conventional systems. An examination of the conditions and effects of breach by a state of multilateral obligations calls first and foremost for a definition of the term 'multilateral obligation', including identification of its specific features and nature. There follows the question of what does a breach of multilateral obligations consist of, what are its constituent elements. Consideration should also be given to the consequences in terms of international responsibility that may be incurred thereby, since the conception one may have of such responsibility is, in this author's opinion, quite closely linked to an analysis of the previous question. This is the order in which some ideas on this subject will be presented in this short paper.