International responsibility and attribution of conduct: an analysis of Case Law on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

Legal rules on the attribution of conduct determine whether conduct is considered an act of the State for the purpose of holding it responsible under international law. This thesis analyses the standard and function of attribution rules in the case law of human rights courts, quasi-judicial human rights bodies, and international criminal courts with jurisdiction over violations of humanitarian law. More specifically, this thesis analyses whether human rights courts on the one hand, and international criminal tribunals when dealing with humanitarian law on the other, have followed the standards of attribution as laid down in customary international law or, rather, whether these courts and tribunals have adopted or recognized special rules to determine whether certain conduct constitutes an act of the State. Additionally, this thesis examines whether these courts, tribunals and bodies apply attribution rules from the law of State responsibility to determine the applicable law and consequently enable the exercise of their judicial function. The latter is a question of the function of attribution rules.