An Introduction to the Articles on the Responsibility of International Organisations

Abstract

As subjects of international law, international organisations are capable of incurring international responsibility for the commission of internationally wrongful acts. Even though this consequence of their status under international law has always been implied, it is only recently that it has been the subject of sustained examination. In 2011, the International Law Commission (ILC) adopted the ‘Draft Articles on the Responsibility of International Organisations’ (2011 RIO articles), which represent a 1 major attempt at elaborating the consequences of breaches of international obligations owed by an international organisation to another subject of international law – whether a state or states or another international organisation. Their elaboration, which has not been without a measure of controversy, also serves as an interesting case-study on the contemporary process of the elaboration of international norms, and the promotion of their progressive development and codification within the context of the ILC.