Complicity and the Law of State Responsibility

"The timing of Article 16 was fortuitous, for in the past decade the issue of complicity has moved to the centre of debates about international law. If the 2003 invasion of Iraq was illegal – as many now believe it was – were non-participating countries that allowed the invading forces to use their airspace or territory also violating international law? If the United States’ programme of ‘extraordinary rendition’ was illegal, what of those countries that allowed the CIA to use their airspace and airports, or to set up secret prisons within their territory? Neither Article 16 nor its supporting commentary can fully answer these questions, [3] and this is where Helmut Philipp Aust’s excellent new book comes in. A Senior Research Fellow at Humboldt University in Berlin, Aust provides a comprehensive examination of state practice as it relates to complicity, along with a thought-provoking theoretical discussion of where the concept might fit within the current and future development of international law."
-GLOBAL LAW BOOKS

"It was high time for an academic treatment of this fundamental issue for the international legal order. A decisive contribution in this regard has now been made by Helmut Philipp Aust… The history, content, structure and international legal context of the norm are analysed by the author in a comprehensive and precise manner. This is also true for the conflicts between law, morals and politics which impact upon the development and interpretation of the rule on complicity. Aust takes the position of a carefully balancing pragmatist who clearly identifies international legal deficits, but refrains from moral rigour. In general, the book excels by its high relevance to practice.”
-FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG

"Consultation of the book by Helmut Philipp Aust is essential for understanding the notion of complicity.... The discussions in the book rest on an impressive range of material and on rigorous reasoning, the whole being written in a direct and engaging style. Reading of this book is to be recommended to everyone interested in the law of international responsibility."
-REVUE BELGE DE DROIT INTERNATIONAL