Distribution of Reparation in the Context of International Shared Responsibility

Distribution of reparation in situations of shared responsibility has always been one of the main challenges of responsibility in international judicial proceedings. In all cases of shared responsibility, the question arises as to which entity is responsible and how responsibility should be distributed among several factors. The Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (2001) and the Draft Articles on Responsibility of International Organizations (2011) provide only limited guidance on the distribution of reparation. Likewise, the international jurisprudence has made brief references to the sharing of reparation among joint agents. Distribution of reparation to joint agents is done separately, taking into account the extent of the responsibility of each of the agents for causing harm and damage. Although, as defined by the International Law Commission, causality has no place among the constituent elements of an international wrongfulness, it is one of the main means of distributing compensation. Moreover, the analysis of the relationship between different instruments in different situations of shared responsibility can be found to have an effective role in the distribution of reparation.