Part V The Implementation of International Responsibility, Ch.85 Obligations Relating to the Use of Force and Arising from Peremptory Norms of International Law
Charles Leben
From: The Law of International Responsibility
Edited By: James Crawford, Alain Pellet, Simon Olleson, Kate Parlett
- Subject(s):
- Responsibility of states — Wrongful acts — Countermeasures — Armed forces — Peremptory norms / ius cogens — Erga omnes obligations
Countermeasures are by definition wrongful in themselves but are justified by a prior violation of an international law obligation by the State against which the measures are taken.1 Any countermeasure, defined by the ILC as any (unarmed) reprisal, therefore implies a violation of international law, in response to a prior violation. Countermeasures are acceptable only if the violation taken in response does not constitute an intolerable outrage. In other words, although the principle of countermeasures is accepted as codified in ARSIWA, it is necessary to specify...
