Responsibility for Coups d'Etat in International Law

Abstract

It is the aim of this article to demonstrate that the impact of coups d’état in international political discourse outweighs actual consequences under the law of responsibility in international law. This article argues that - leaving aside the hypothesis of effective control by a foreign state - coups d’état, despite being systematically condemned in political discourse, do not engage the responsibility of any state as they cannot be attributed to any international legal subject. The article however argues that coups can constitute preparatory actions to a subsequent internationally wrongful act.

Keywords: International Law, Coup d'Etat, Democracy, Elections, Change of Government, State Responsibility, Attribution, International Law Commission, Rebellion, Insurgency, Control, Organ