Epilogue

Summary

In the Epilogue, I take a step back to offer a few generalizations about the history of state responsibility. First, I reconceptualize the growth of state responsibility in terms of three overlapping phases: (1) pre-legalism; (2) ad hoc legalism; and (3) institutional legalism. I then consider some themes common to US, German and other approaches to state responsibility. One idea that runs through all three narratives is the consequentiality of breaking the law. When a state violates its international obligations, there should be a consequence for its conduct. What that “responsibility” should mean was, of course, an open question. Another noticeable pattern is that state responsibility was a fundamentally exceptional doctrine. Whatever the purported general rule, the doctrine has consistently provided considerable room for exceptions. Yet, while the UN–codified doctrine does not predict state behavior, it remains a critical legal framework. The codification of state responsibility as secondary rules has provided international society with an argumentative tradition for questioning and judging any type of state conduct.