Issues of Shared Responsibility Before the European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights is probably the international court with the most extensive case law on situations involving a single injury and multiple contributing States. This paper examines how the ECtHR decides such cases and explores to what extent the Court’s approach corresponds to that of the work of the International Law Commission on the topic of international responsibility and relevant judgments of the International Court of Justice. The paper discusses procedural obstacles before the ECtHR for multilateral dispute settlement; the criteria used by the ECtHR for allocating responsibilities among States and/or other entities such as international organizations; and how the Court allocates reparation obligations.