State Responsibility 2.2

A chemical plant in one country leaks poison into a river that flows into the next country, and fishermen downstream lose their catch and their health. The plant is privately owned, yet the victims' government wants compensation from the plant's country, not just the company. When does a State answer for wrongs that happen on its soil, and what must it do to put things right? State responsibility is the branch of international law that answers those two questions.

In two minutes

A State that commits an internationally wrongful act, meaning conduct attributable to it that breaches an international obligation, must stop the wrong and make full reparation, unless one of the recognised circumstances precluding wrongfulness applies.

The rest of this chapter

The full explanation, the cheat sheet, every previous-year question at every mark weight, the quiz and the answer skeletons are part of Public International Law on LexBlox Semester. Sign in to unlock the subject, or read Module 1 of Legal Language and Writing free.