Details
The alarming rise in international terrorist activity since the attacks of September 11th has generated intense debate about the principles by which State responsibility for private acts of terrorism is determined in international law. This book analyses the legal principles that govern State responsibility for the conduct of non-State actors and examines their relevance and effectiveness in an increasingly interconnected world.
The book argues that traditional approaches to determining the State's legal responsibility for violations of these counter-terrorism obligations lack conceptual coherence, fail to enhance State accountability for protecting civilians from private violence and are poorly suited to coping with today's terrorist threat. Drawing on a wide array of precedents and legal sources, the study offers a novel approach to regulating State responsibility for private violence that is grounded in principles of causation.
The book argues that causation-based State responsibility for terrorism can be reconciled with the International Law Commission's Draft Articles on State Responsibility and offers a conceptual and legal framework that is better equipped to deal with the subtle interactions between State and non-State actors that make contemporary terrorism possible.
Dr Tal Becker was legal counsel to the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations from 2001-2005 and has served as Vice-Chairman of the Legal Committee of the UN General Assembly. Dr Becker received his doctorate from Columbia University, and holds a masters degree from the Hebrew University. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife, Naomi, and their three children.
Not only has Becker succeeded in producing a tightly argued yet elegantly written piece of legal scholarship, but he has also convincingly shown how principles of causation can be employed to hold states accountable for private acts of terrorism. His book makes an important contribution to the law of state responsibility…one may expect that before long Becker's arguments for broadening the scope of state responsibility for private acts of terrorism will be taken up on the international stage.
Aurel Sari
International Affairs
Nov 2006
The author addresses the subject very succinctly…This book will serve as a useful source of reference for scholars, academicians and government officials working in this field.
Manoj Kumar Sinha
Indian Journal of International Law, vol.46, n.3, 2006
…a tour de force in the literature on state responsibility. His scholarship is impeccable.
Craig Forcese
The Canadian Bar Review
Dec 2006
…comprehensive and clear, original and substantiated, conceptual and practical…A great international law book, Terrorism and the State is open to competing readings and, simultaneously, conveys a clear argument…Terrorism and the State is clearly the most significant contribution to the field of state responsibility since the ILC Draft Articles of 2001.
Alan Nissel
Journal of International Criminal Justice, vol 5, no 1, March 2007
Becker is a learned and careful commentator, and international lawyers will benefit from reading his book.
Political Science Quarterly
Eric A. Posner
Aug 06
…the bibliography is most impressive…his call for clarity and certainty in an attempt to base actions on 'sound legal foundations' is admirable…
Dewi Williams
Legal Studies
Vol. 27 No. 2
'Terrorism and the State' is of great interest as it deals with present day questions. References to the late 19th century practice of State responsibility for private acts together with considerations on how the matter generally influences the relationship between public and private domains in international law prove to be particularly interesting.
Raffaella Nigro
Italian Yearbook of International Law
volume 16, 2006
Aside from its important thesis, Terrorism and the State is a thorough resource on state responsibility and terrorism in international law and broaches topics whose importance grows daily.
Joshua Rosenthal
International Law and Politics
Vol 39 No.1
