State Liability — MCQs

All questions with answers and explanations

Read the full set here, or use the practice card above to test yourself one question at a time.

1. Under general international law, State responsibility requires which two elements?

   • A written treaty and a UN resolution
   • Conduct attributable to the State and a breach of an international obligation (correct answer)
   • A declaration of war and economic sanctions
   • Approval by the International Court of Justice in advance

   Explanation. State responsibility arises when conduct is attributable to the State under international law and that conduct breaches an international obligation.

2. In Trail Smelter, why was Canada held responsible even though the smelter was privately owned?

   • Canada personally operated the smelter
   • The wrongful conduct attributed to Canada was its own failure to prevent the activity from causing serious harm elsewhere (correct answer)
   • Private companies cannot be sued under international law at all
   • Canada admitted guilt without any tribunal proceeding

   Explanation. A State is responsible for permitting or failing to prevent a harmful activity within its territory, even where the operator is a private entity.

3. Modern international law treats a State's duty to prevent transboundary environmental harm as an obligation of:

   • Automatic (strict) liability for any harm that crosses a border
   • Due diligence — reasonable preventive measures judged by the standard of a prudent government (correct answer)
   • No liability whatsoever
   • Liability only if a treaty specifically says so

   Explanation. The dominant view treats this as a due-diligence obligation, not automatic strict liability.

4. The Corfu Channel Case (UK v. Albania) (1949) established that:

   • Albania must pay for laying mines itself
   • A State must not knowingly allow its territory to be used for acts contrary to the rights of other States (correct answer)
   • The United Nations has no role in maritime disputes
   • Trail Smelter was wrongly decided

   Explanation. The ICJ held Albania responsible for knowing of a minefield in its waters and failing to warn ships, establishing a due-diligence-based rule.

5. Once State responsibility for environmental harm is established, remedies typically include:

   • Cessation of the wrongful conduct and reparation (restitution, compensation or satisfaction) (correct answer)
   • Automatic expulsion from the United Nations
   • Criminal imprisonment of the head of state
   • No remedy is available under international law

   Explanation. General international law requires cessation of ongoing wrongful conduct and full reparation, which may be restitution, compensation, or satisfaction.

6. Why is climate change particularly difficult to address through state-responsibility litigation?

   • Because no country emits greenhouse gases
   • Because causation cannot be traced from one State's emissions to a specific injury in another State with the certainty required by cases like Trail Smelter (correct answer)
   • Because the ICJ has banned all climate-related cases
   • Because greenhouse gases are not considered pollution

   Explanation. Diffuse global harms mix in the shared atmosphere, making it very hard to attribute a specific injury to a specific State's emissions — hence the shift toward cooperative treaty regimes.

7. Article 38(1)(b) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice describes custom as:

   • International custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law (correct answer)
   • A written agreement between two States
   • A resolution of the UN Security Council
   • A decision of a national court

   Explanation. Article 38(1)(b) of the ICJ Statute refers to international custom as evidence of a general practice accepted as law.

8. Which two things are needed for a rule of customary international law?

   • A signed treaty and ratification by Parliament
   • A UN vote and a court order
   • A general State practice and the belief that the practice is legally required (correct answer)
   • The written consent of every State

   Explanation. Customary international law needs a general State practice, and the belief that the practice is required by law.

9. How does customary international law differ from a treaty?

   • It binds only the States that signed it
   • It binds States generally, whether or not they have signed any treaty (correct answer)
   • It binds only developed States
   • It has no legal force

   Explanation. A treaty binds only its parties. Customary international law binds States generally.

10. Which principle from the Trail Smelter Arbitration is treated as customary international law?

    • No State may use, or permit the use of, its territory to cause serious injury to another State by fumes (correct answer)
    • A State may pollute freely inside its own borders
    • Only private companies are liable for transboundary harm
    • Transboundary harm is lawful if the polluter pays tax

    Explanation. The Tribunal held that no State has the right to use or permit the use of its territory to cause serious injury by fumes in or to another State's territory. Stockholm Principle 21 and Rio Principle 2 repeat it.

11. In Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v. Union of India, the Supreme Court held that sustainable development is part of:

    • Only a treaty that India has not signed
    • The Preamble to the Constitution
    • The Seventh Schedule
    • Customary international law (correct answer)

    Explanation. The Court held that sustainable development, as a balancing concept between ecology and development, is part of customary international law.

12. According to Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum, a rule of customary international law that is not contrary to domestic law is:

    • Ignored by Indian courts
    • Deemed incorporated in domestic law and followed by courts (correct answer)
    • Valid only after a constitutional amendment
    • Binding only on the Union Government

    Explanation. The Court said a rule of customary international law not contrary to municipal law is deemed incorporated in domestic law, and courts follow it.