ABSTRACT
Having broken state accountability down to its conceptual elements in Chapter 1, the objective in Chapter 2 is to provide some clarity as to the concept as a whole. The variety in formal and informal responses when states breach international law confi rms that, at a minimum, there is an ad hoc practice of seeking accountability from states. The aim here is to develop a conceptual framework in which such ad hoc accountability practices can be analysed in order that conclusions may then be drawn as to the current normative status of state accountability. The fi rst step in constructing this framework is to set limits on the scope of ad hoc practice to be analysed: namely, can responses that are not strictly legal and responses that seek to hold the organs of the state accountable in lieu of the state be taken as evidence of state accountability. The second step is to identify a ‘tentative set of [accountability] criteria’91 against which the attainment of accountability can then be measured.
