Encoding the law of State responsibility with courage and resolve: James Crawford and the 2001 Articles on State Responsibility

Paddeu, F. I. and Tams, C. J. (2022) Encoding the law of State responsibility with courage and resolve: James Crawford and the 2001 Articles on State Responsibility. Cambridge International Law Journal, 11(1), pp. 6-23. (doi: 10.4337/cilj.2022.01.01)

Abstract

The breadth of James Crawford’s work as an academic and practitioner of international law is astonishing: from boundary delimitation to foundational sources questions to the complexities of annulment in investment arbitration, little seemed beyond his grasp or interest. From the 1990s onwards, State responsibility became a focus of his work, guiding the International Law Commission (ILC) through a swift second reading of the Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (Articles). The eventual text, adopted in 2001 and annexed to United Nations General Assembly resolution 56/83, while reflecting a collective ILC effort, bears his imprint. This contribution takes three observations by Crawford as prompts for a discussion of both his role in their crafting and of the Articles’ place in contemporary international law. First, the Articles have ‘encoded the way we think about [State] responsibility’. Second, this encoding exercise marked ‘a step in the direction of profitable generalization’. Finally, the fact that this exercise resulted in a formally non-binding text has permitted ‘the Articles as part of the fabric of general international law to be consolidated and refined’ in the day-to-day interpretation and application of international law. The article concludes with brief remarks on their future status.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Tams, Professor Christian
• Authors: Paddeu, F. I., and Tams, C. J.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Law
• Journal Name: Cambridge International Law Journal
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• ISSN: 2398-9173
• ISSN (Online): 2398-9181
• Published Online: 15 June 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 Cambridge University Press
• First Published: First published in Cambridge International Law Journal 11(1):6-23
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher