State liability for failure to protect others
Résumé
Over recent years, a number of legal decisions have been taken that represent real
novelties in the field. They address state liability towards foreigners in a realm where
immunity has long prevailed. Dutch courts have condemned the Dutch state for failure to
protect Bosniacs after the fall of the enclave of Srebrenica in 1995. The novelty of these court
decisions is most apparent when they are compared to the previous investigations and reports
on the fall of the Srebrenica enclave, which had the intended or de facto effect of leaving
aside state liability. This article focuses on this comparison. The decisions of the Dutch court
represent a change with regard to a trend in which collective responsibility was reduced to a
scarecrow argument, where state liability for genocide was limited to the obligation to address
criminal responsibility, and where co-agency was a shield preventing the attribution of state
responsibility. Not only do these court decisions sanction state liability, they also address the
victims and even grant them reparations.
Domaines
DroitOrigine | Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s) |
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