"The conduct of an organ of the state shall be
considered as an act of that state under
international law, whether that organ belongs
to
the
constituent,
legislature,
executive,
judicial or other power, whether its functions
are of an international or subordinate position
in the organization of the state."
31. In the instant case, the two policemen who took away the Applicant's drivers
and the two apprentices to an unknown location and abandoned them after which
they stole and disposed of all the goods of the Applicant to an unknown person,
can be seen as acts attributed to the police services unit of the State of Ghana
because it has responsibility to ensure the protection of the Applicant's goods in
transit within its territory. Another aspect there from is that the two police
constables or officers were in uniforms but according to the Defendant, they were
not on official duty. Can their actions (police constables) be attributed to the State
of Ghana- the Defendant? In the case of France v Mexico (Caire claim) (1929)
5, Reports of International Arbitral Awards 516, the Tribunal held that public
or state officials would usually include, for example, members of the state's
executive, legislature, judiciary, armed forces, police and security services and a
state responsibility for the actions of these officials even where those actions are
committed outside the scope of the officials duties or organs, or that, in so acting,
or acted, at least apparently as authorized officials or organs, or that, in so acting,
they used powers or measure appropriate to their official character".
32.
It is now obvious that generally, the rules of state responsibility described
above are applicable to international human rights law - see (1999) 2 Human
Rights Quarterly 56, 59, The Hague, (1998) 91, 115, where it was stated that,
"the European Court of Human Rights has consistently applied the principles
articulated in the ILC Draft Articles on state Responsibility without, however,
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