L’attribution au Liban du comportement du Hezbollah selon le droit international de la responsabilité de l’État
The 33 days of war that took place in Lebanon in the months of July and August 2006 have given rise to a wide range of questions about the legality of Israel’s use of force on behalf of its so-called right to self-defence. The issue at stake is mostly the result of the fact that the attack which provoked the beginning of the hostilities, on 12 July 2006, was performed by Hezbollah, an armed group whose status as a State or non-State actor remains difficult to pinpoint. This study puts forward the analysis of whether Lebanon must be held accountable for Hezbollah’s actions. A review of the history of Lebanon and of Hezbollah’s creation illustrates that the relationship between these two actors is particularly complex and that Hezbollah’s status is still widely contested. This will directly influence the answer to the question of the attribution of Hezbollah’s actions to the Lebanese State. An in-depth study of the international principles regulating the act of « attribution », a pivotal concept in the international law on the responsibility of States, will reveal that discerning the nature of the link between a State and an entity whose actions are contested is extremely important. In today’s world, where non-State actors have a major role on the international scene, and in the case of Hezbollah in Lebanon – an armed militia operating from within a State with limited sovereignty – the notion of attribution itself might lose much of its significance.
Hezbollah Lebanon Hezbollah State responsibility Non-State actors International Law Commission Sovereignty Due diligence Failed States Terrorism International legal personality