Liability of States to Deal with Terrorist Attacks on Vital Infrastructure of a Country

Terrorism is known as a form of violence committed to achieve different international demands. Terrorist attacks might be carried out by individuals, groups, or states. International law has always tried to govern various dimensions of this violent phenomenon to find coping mechanisms. According to the regulations of international law, a state’s action or inaction can cause international liability if it is firstly considered offensive and is secondly attributable to that state. Hence, the Friendly Relations Declaration prohibited the exertion of violence and state terrorism. With the State Liability Convention passed in 2001 and the other legal documents, international law prohibited any actions or inactions causing damage to other states. Therefore, a state violating the regulations of international law will be held internationally liable. The vital infrastructure plays a key role in economic, political, and social conditions and security of a state. Thus, to avoid direct confrontation with a target country, some states resort to proximity terrorist groups to cause serious damage to that country without leaving any trace. Hence, with a focus on terrorist attacks on the vital infrastructure of countries, this paper benefits from a descriptive-analytical method in order to explain the liabilities of states to support terrorist groups.