The Responsibility of Members Due to Wrongful Acts of International Organizations

Abstract

While for the most part the attribution hypothesis raised by the International Law Commission (ILC) in its articles on the responsibility of international organizations are still purely theoretical, the eventual subsidiary responsibility of the members is marked by a high degree of importance which also counts on numerous precedents. In this alleged scenario, the attributable responsibility of the members would exclusively arise under its membership condition vis-a-vis the international organization — without considering any type of help, assistance, execution, control or coercion exercised by the international organization in the perpetration of the wrongful act. This paper aims to study this subject by conducting a thorough analysis of the theories addressing this issue which have been elaborated over time, the case law, the private codifications and the political arguments set out in the doctrine. All of this will be confronted with the articles adopted by the ILC in 2011. Finally, this study will conclude by assessing whether members are obliged to provide funding so as to enable the organization to fulfil its obligations of repairing the damage caused by the wrongful act.