Mapping a Responsibility of Corporations for Violations of International Humanitarian Law Sailing between International and Domestic Legal Orders

Abstract

Given the growing involvement of corporations in armed conflict zones, the potential responsibility of these legal entities for violations of international humanitarian law (“IHL”) is an issue of increasing importance. While most of the attention has been drawn so far to concepts of individual criminal responsibility, we are at the same time witnessing the development of several mechanisms rendering possible the responsibility of legal persons for IHL violations. This article intends to illustrate that, despite a lack of enforcement processes against corporations at the international level, an emerging corporate accountability rests with the implementation of international obligations within national legal orders, mainly the transposition of IHL norms into domestic law, and the economic sanctions adopted by the UN Security Council for violations of the law of armed conflicts.

Keywords: international humanitarian law, international criminal law, corporations, UN Security Council Sanctions, OECD, ATCA, international legal personality