Non-State Actors As Respondents Before International Judicial Bodies

Abstract

For centuries, non-state actors have acted as claimants before international judicial bodies. Only recently, however, have they begun acting as respondents. This Article considers how five areas of international law—international investment law, international human rights law, international humanitarian law, international criminal law, and the law of the sea—deal with non-state actors in order to identify a lex generalis governing non-state actors as respondents.

In particular, this Article examines two elements that must be established to make a successful claim against a non-state actor:

(1) how non-state actors acquire obligations under international law; and

(2) how international judicial bodies acquire jurisdiction ratione personae over non-state actors.

Keywords: international law; non-state actors; disputes; dispute settlement; jurisdiction; courts; tribunals; judicial bodies