Responsibility of Organized Armed Groups Controlling Territory: Attributing Conduct to ISIS

Abstract

In stark contrast to the situation for states, international organizations and individuals, there is no coherent international legal framework governing the responsibility of non-state organized armed groups that are parties to armed conflicts. The present chapter explores the possibility of developing such a framework for international law by focusing first on formulating a set of rules on attribution of conduct; and, second, using the Islamic State (IS) as a case study, to explore how some core rules of attribution could be applied to a specific type of organized armed group, namely those that—at least during a certain period of their existence—exercise territorial control.