State Responsibility

In any legal system there must be liability for failure to observe obligations imposed by its rules. Such liability is known in international law as responsibility. State responsibility in International law refers to liability, that of one State to another for the non-observance of the obligation imposed by the International legal systems.

State responsibility is fundamental principle of international law, arising out of the nature of the international legal system and the doctrines of state internationally unlawful act against another state international responsibility is established between the two.

International responsibility is different from international obligations as the former is the result of the breach of the latter. the latter are primary rules, the breach of which is the source of international responsibility whereas the former are secondary rules as they determine the legal consequences of failure to fulfill obligations established by the primary rules.

Basis Of State Responsibility:- The state as a sovereign entity have no legal responsibility for some of its acts towards its subjects. But the position is different with respect to external responsibility of a state. If a State by its act or omission commits a breach of an international obligation it incurs international responsibility. The international Court of Justice observed: It is the principle of international law that the breach of an agreement involves an obligation to make reparation in an adequate form.

State responsibility may occur either by a direct injury to the right of another state or by wrongful act or omission which causes injury to an alien. In the latter case, the responsibility is attributed to the state of which alien is a national. Thus state responsibility arises not only in connection with the treatment of aliens but also as a result of unlawful acts of a state which causes damage to another state.