A, a British photojournalist, was covering the violent protests of the Thai Red-Shirts Movement in Bangkok. Despite warnings
given by the Thai Prime Minister to foreigners, specially journalists, A moved around the Thai capital. In the course of his coverage, he was killed with a stray bullet which was later identified as having come from the ranks of the Red-Shirts. The wife of A sought relief from Thai authorities but was refused assistance.
Is there state responsibility on the part of Thailand? (2%)
What is the appropriate remedy available to the victim’s family under international law? (3%)
Suggested answer only. Not an official answer and not legal advice.
(a) Yes, Thailand is internationally responsible, and (b) the victim's family may seek diplomatic protection from Great Britain after exhausting local remedies.
Under the Doctrine of State Responsibility, a State is liable if it fails to exercise due diligence to investigate and punish crimes against aliens. Under diplomatic protection, an injured alien must exhaust local remedies before their home State can espouse the claim.
Here, while A's death from a stray bullet is not directly imputable to Thailand, refusing assistance and failing to investigate constitutes an international delinquency. Thus, after exhausting local remedies, A's family may request Great Britain to espouse their claim.
Therefore, Thailand is internationally liable, and the remedy is diplomatic protection by Great Britain upon exhausting local remedies.
This is not an official scoring system and carries no weight with the Supreme Court or any bar review provider. It measures how much of the suggested answer's wording your response covers, not whether your reasoning is correct. For practice only.
Quick check
Under international law, when does a State incur responsibility for acts committed against an alien by private insurgents or protestors?
A state incurs international liability when it fails to exercise due diligence to investigate or punish crimes against aliens.
What requirement must an injured foreign national satisfy before their home state can exercise diplomatic protection?
Customary international law requires the exhaustion of local remedies before diplomatic protection may be exercised.
Why is Thailand internationally responsible for the death of the foreign photojournalist from a stray bullet fired by protestors?
Thailand's liability stems from its failure to exercise due diligence in investigating the crime and refusing assistance.
Who holds the legal right to espouse an international claim under the doctrine of diplomatic protection?
Diplomatic protection is a sovereign right belonging to the home state of the injured alien.
When is an injured alien exempted from the requirement to exhaust local remedies in a host state?
The exhaustion of local remedies is excused when domestic remedies are demonstrably futile or unavailable.
Learn more about these topics
1. State Responsibility Doctrine
Under customary international law and the Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, a state is not automatically liable for acts committed by private individuals or rebel groups within its territory. However, a state incurs international responsibility if its organs fail to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, or punish crimes committed against aliens. When a state refuses assistance or fails to conduct a proper investigation into the killing of a foreign national, it commits an independent international delinquency, triggering international state responsibility.
2. Diplomatic Protection Doctrine
Diplomatic protection is an international procedure whereby a state espouses the claim of its national who has suffered an international wrong by another state. Because an injury to a national is considered an indirect injury to the home state under international law, the home state possesses the sovereign discretion whether to bring a diplomatic claim against the offending nation. The victim's family cannot personally sue the foreign state before international tribunals but must request their home government to exercise diplomatic protection on their behalf.
3. Exhausting Local Remedies
The exhaustion of local remedies is a well-established rule of customary international law preceding the exercise of diplomatic protection. Before an injured alien's home state may formally espouse a claim or institute international proceedings against a foreign host state, the victim or their legal heirs must first exhaust all available domestic judicial and administrative remedies provided by the host state's legal system, unless such local remedies are proven to be manifestly futile or unavailable.