A number of states have in recent years sought to invoke the responsibility of other states for breaches of their international obligations erga omnes. Their contention is that these obligations are not owed to them bilaterally but in the collective interest, whether as states parties to multilateral treaties or as members of the international community as a whole. This growing interest in the invocation of responsibility for breaches of obligations erga omnes is discussed primarily in relation to the International Law Commission’s Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts. The Articles being a statement of principle, and indeed, a progressive development of the law on the issue, attention must also be paid to the decisions and dicta of the International Court of Justice. Of particular interest, and the focus of this article, is the question of a state’s standing to institute proceedings before the Court to invoke responsibility for the breach of an obligation erga omnes even in the absence of any injury on its part. The most recent manifestation of this position is The Gambia’s institution in 2019 of proceedings against Myanmar, solely on the basis that all states parties to the Genocide Convention have a legal interest in compliance with the obligations therein. By scrutinizing the practice of the Court to date, the article examines the limits and consequences of an expansive right of standing for states seeking to enforce obligations erga omnes at the Court.

中文翻译：

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普遍义务和在国际法院出庭的问题

近年来，一些国家试图援引其他国家违反其国际义务的责任普遍适用. 他们的论点是，这些义务不是双边的，而是为了集体利益，无论是作为多边条约的缔约国还是作为整个国际社会的成员。这种对违反义务追究责任的兴趣日益浓厚普遍适用讨论主要与国际法委员会关于国家对国际不法行为的责任的条款有关。这些条款是一项原则声明，实际上是有关该问题的法律的逐步发展，因此还必须注意国际法院的决定和格言。特别令人感兴趣且本文的重点是一个国家是否有资格向法院提起诉讼以援引违反义务的责任的问题普遍适用即使它没有受到任何伤害。这一立场的最新表现是冈比亚在 2019 年对缅甸提起诉讼的机构，完全是基于《灭绝种族罪公约》的所有缔约国都具有遵守其中义务的合法利益。通过审查法院迄今为止的实践，本文审查了寻求强制执行义务的国家的广泛诉讼权利的限制和后果普遍适用在法庭上。