30 and 31 May 2013

SHARES Seminar: Distribution of Responsibilities in International Law

This SHARES Seminar will consider extra-legal perspectives on how responsibility is to be distributed among multiple wrongdoing actors.

The question of distribution is central to the SHARES Project. Actors may agree on distribution ex ante, e.g. by determining that some states should carry higher burdens in military operations. If such ex ante agreements of distribution have been made, this may influence or even determine responsibility ex post facto. If nothing has been agreed, the question arises how nonetheless responsibilities are to be distributed. Should the responsibility of all actors be based on their individual contribution to such harms? Are there grounds for differentiation, and should individual responsibilities be determined on these bases? Or should all actors be held responsible in an equal amount, or should they, if no differentiation can be made, be held responsible collectively? (more…)