The International Law Commission's Articles, adopted in 2001, mark a major step in international law. They define when there has been a breach of international law and the consequences of such breaches. They show how international law now allows for categories of general public interest-- human rights, the environment, etc... Including a full introduction, the text of the Articles and commentary, plus a guide to the legislative history, a detailed index and table of cases, this volume will be an indispensable accompaniment to the ILC's work on this vital topic.

Preface; Note on sources and style; List of abbreviations; Table of cases; Introduction; Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts: Part I. The Internationally Wrongful Act of a State: 1. General principles; 2. Attribution of conduct to a state; 3. Breach of an international obligation; 4. Responsibility of a state in connection with the act of another state; 5. Circumstances precluding wrongfulness; Part II. Content of the International Responsibility of a State: 6. General principles; 7. Reparation for injury; 8. Serious breaches of obligations under peremptory norms of general international law; Part III. The Implementation of the International Responsibility of a State: 9. Invocation of the responsibility of a state; 10. Countermeasures; Part IV. General Provisions; Appendix 1: drafting history; Appendix 2: Draft articles on state responsibility provisionally adopted by the International Law Commission on first reading (1996); Appendix 3: table of equivalent articles; Select bibliography; Index.