¹ The ILC was established in 1947 by the United Nations General Assembly. See GA Res. 174 (II), of 21 Nov, 1947. For an excellent chronicling of the formation of the ILC, see Watts, A, The International Law Commission, 1949–1998, vols I, II, III (1999), particularly vol I at 1–20;Google ScholarThe Work of the International Law Commission (UN Publication No E.95.V.6) (5th edn, 1996), at 121–41.Google Scholar

² For the text of the ILC Articles on State Responsibility, see Crawford, J, The International Law Commission's Articles on State Responsibility: Introduction, Text and Commentaries (2001) (hereafter ILC's Commentary).Google Scholar

³ Lowe states that by categorizing these circumstances as precluding wrongfulness, the ILC ‘propose to characterize wrongful conduct in respect of which there exists exculpatory circumstances as “not wrongful”.’ Instead he suggested that the Commission could have ‘characterized them as wrongful but excused’. See Lowe, V, ‘Precluding Wrongfulness or Responsibility: A Plea for Excuses’, (1999) 10 (2) EJIL 405.CrossRefGoogle ScholarBut see Rosenstock, R, ‘The ILC and State Responsibility’, (2002) 96(4) AJIL 792, at 794.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

⁴ The circumstances also featured in the ILC's Draft Articles on State Responsibility adopted in 1996. See ILC's Report, 1996, GAOR, 51st Sess, Supp 10,125.Google Scholar

⁵ Text in UNTS, vol 1155, 331, entered into force 27 Jan 1980.Google Scholar

⁶ See the Reservations to the Genocide Convention case (1951) ICJ Reports 15;Google ScholarThe Legality of the Threat of Use of Nuclear Weapon, ICJ Reports (1996) 226, at 257 para 79.Google ScholarHowever, it must be noted that the ICJ's dealing with the issue of jus cogens so far is no more than a rendition of an obita dictum and has yet to deal with the issue directly. In fact, in the Arrest Warrant case (Congo v Belgium) 41 International Legal Materials 536, the Court avoided pronouncing on the existence of peremptory norms.Google ScholarSee also Shelton, D, ‘Righting Wrongs: Reparations in the Articles on State Responsibility’, (2002) 96 AJIL 833, at 843.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

⁷ Art 5(3) of the General Assembly's Definition of Aggression Resolution 3314 (XXIX), 29(1) RGA 142 at 144 (1974).Google Scholar

⁸ The German Federal Constitutional Court in 1965 decided that certain elementary legal commands had to be considered as rules of customary international law from which no derogation is permitted. See (1965) 18 Entscheidungen des Bundesverfassungsgerichts 449;Google Scholar(1966–1997) 13 Archiv des Völkerrechts, 122, at 126, cited by Jørgensen, N, The Responsibility of States for International Crimes (2000), 88;Google Scholarsee also the decision of a US court in Filartiga v Pena-Irala, (1984) 77 International Law Report 185;Google ScholarHouse of Lords decision in R v Bow Street Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate, exparte Pinochet Ugarte (No 3) [1999] 2 All ER 97, particularly at 108–9, and 114–15 (per LordBrowne-Wilkinson, );Google ScholarUS Court of Appeals, 2nd Ciruit, in Siderman de Blake v Argentina, 965 F 2d 699 (1992) International Legal Materials vol 103,455, at 471.Google Scholar

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¹⁴ Ibid.

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¹⁸ Some of the few works on ‘consent’ within the context of circumstances precluding wrongfulness are to be found in Thirlway, H, ‘The Law and Procedure of the International Court of Justice 1960–1989’ (1995) 56 BYIL 1, at 73;Google ScholarRonzitti, N, ‘Use of Force, Jus Cogens and State Consent’ in Cassese, A (ed.), The Current Legal Regulation of the Use of Force (1986), 147;Google ScholarVerosta, , ‘Zur Anwendung der Regel’ ‘volenti non fit injuria’ im Völkerrecht’, Jus Humanitatis, Festschrift zum 90. Geburstag von Alfred Verdross, 1980, 689;Google ScholarGaja, G, ‘Jus Cogens Beyond Vienna Convention’ (1981) 172 Hague Recueil, 293 et seq; Alaimo, ‘Nature del consens nell'illecito internazionale’ (1982) 65 Rivista di Diritto Internazionale 257 et seq.Google Scholar

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²³ See US v Iran (Yaeger v Iran) (1987) 17 Iran-US CTR 92.Google Scholar

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²⁶ Ibid.

²⁷ Ibid, at 121; 102 International Law Reports 18.

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⁴¹ Ibid.

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⁴⁴ Wippman, David, ‘Treaty-Based Intervention: Who Can Say No?’ (1995) 62 University of Chicago Law Review 607, at 624–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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⁵⁴ Ibid, at 13.

⁵⁵ 8 Iran-US CTR 99, Interlocutory Award No ITL 49–55 18 Apr 1985.Google Scholar

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⁵⁷ Ibid.

⁵⁸ (1986-II) 6 Iran-US CTR 33.Google Scholar

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⁶¹ For instance, the limitations placed by Arts 41 and 48 of the VCLT and Arts 53 and 64 relating to the peremptory norm of general international law.Google Scholar

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⁷⁴ Ibid, at 19.

⁷⁵ Ibid, at 21.

⁷⁶ ICJ Reports (1970), 3 at 32. See also In re Koch, 30 International Law Reports 496, at 503; Assessment of Aliens case, 43 ILR, 3 at 8; Tokyo Suikosha case 13 Japanese Ann of IL (1969) 113, at 115.Google Scholar

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⁷⁸ See Pellet, Alain, ‘Can a State Commit a Crime? Definitely, Yes!’ (1999) 10 EJIL 1, at 5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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⁸⁰ Ibid.

⁸¹ These States include Poland, Sierra Leone, Cyprus, Italy, Ecuador, Czechoslovakia, Bielorussia, Nepal, and so on. See UN Conference on the Law of Treaties. First and Second Sessions, Vienna, 26 Mar-24 May 1968, Official Records, UN A/CONF 39/11, at 294, para 3.Google Scholar

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⁸⁴ Above, n 44 at 619.Google Scholar

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⁹⁰ Oscar Schachter argued that ‘in the absence of a civil war, recognized governments have a right to receive external military assistance and outside States are free to furnish such aid…[intervention] is allowable at the request of the government of a State’. See Schachter, O, ‘The right of States to Use Armed Force’ (1984) 82 MLR 1620, at 1645.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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