The need of the hour is to investigate the act of the ISIS Khorsan in Russia and throw light on the participants like the Foreign Terrorist Fighters who are involved in such crimes and the reason behind them getting involved.
Authors
Abhinav Mehrotra, Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Biswanath Gupta, Associate Professor, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Summary
The recent attack in Russia by the ISIS-Khorasan and the killing of 150 Russians has sparked international eyeballs. The act is condemned by the international community. Different views have been expressed about this attack and its political implications. In this article, the authors talk about the responsibility of non-state actors in international law and throw light on one kind of such actor called Foreign Terrorist Fighters who have played an integral role for organizations like ISIS-Khorasan.
In simple terms, non-state actors are an umbrella concept that encompasses all those actors in international relations that are not States. It comprises individuals as well as entities, the latter spanning a large range of organizations and institutions on the global, regional, sub-regional as well as local levels.
The growing involvement of the non-state actors is seen as a criticism of international law as International law largely deals with states. Therefore, it becomes difficult to encompass the phenomenon of non-state actors within the realm of international law.
The determinations of responsibility for non-state actors are implementable by states through punitive measures, so, unless the state plays an active role, it is very difficult to counter these non-state actors at the municipal level. International Court of Justice in its judgment in Nicaragua judgment used the concept of non-state actors in international law.
But in that judgment, the Court did not make any significant contribution to the responsibility of non-state actors in international law. The contras who were responsible for attacking the Nicaraguan government were funded and helped by the USA.
Published in: The Geopolitics
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