| abstract | This article maps the approach of the European Court of Human 6
Rights regarding the responsibility of Member States for the acts of 7
international organizations. It compares this approach with the International 8
Law Commission’s approach in the Draft Articles on the Responsibility of 9
International Organizations. It concludes that the Court’s requirement of State 10
action, coupled with the application of a principle of equivalent rights 11
protection, goes some way to ease concerns over the erosion of the almost 12
hallowed principle that Member States should generally not be held respon- 13
sible for the acts of international organizations. However, the Court’s recent 14
development of a principle pursuant to which Member States could be held 15
responsible in case of a structural lacuna as regards the protection of rights 16
within the organization’s internal dispute-settlement mechanism is reason for 17
some concern, as it appears to negate the separate legal personality of the 18
organization. |
