The ILC Draft Articles

With its toxic atmosphere of defiance of law and order, a NIAC provides fertile soil for international disputes between the local State (Ruritania) and a foreign State (Arcadia). Such disputes flare up in consequence of damage caused within the territory of Ruritania, during a NIAC, to (i) Arcadian agents or installations, primarily embassies and consulates; (ii) Arcadian nationals who have entered Ruritania as tourists, businessmen, labourers, students, etc.; or (iii) the property of Arcadian nationals or corporations.

There is no general binding treaty regulating the international law of State responsibility. The subject was studied for decades by the ILC, and, in 2001, Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for International Wrongful Acts (cited supra 217) were finally presented to the General Assembly. Although the ILC Draft Articles were not (nor were they intended to be) transformed into a treaty – and therefore have no binding force – it is noteworthy that the ICJ has relied on them periodically, even before their formal adoption (see, e.g., infra 361). Of particular interest is Article 10 of the Draft Articles (supra 217), which deals with insurrectional movements. ‘The wording of the article can be considered as a concise and distinct expression of international customary law’.