I.The Act of Joys Are Us Is Attributable To Ridley

1. RIDLEY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTS OF JOYS ARE US.
An internationally wrongful act of a State consists of an act that is attributable to the

State, which entails a violation of its international obligations. The acts of Joys Are Us are
attributable to Ridley and constituted a breach of international obligations
I.The Act of Joys Are Us is attributable to Ridley

Article 5. Conduct of persons or entities exercising elements of governmental authority
“The conduct of a person or entity which is not an organ of the State under article 4 but
which is empowered by the law of that State to exercise elements of the governmental
authority shall be considered an act of the State under international law, provided the person
or entity is acting in that capacity in the particular instance.”
The generic term “entity” reflects the wide variety of bodies which, though not organs,
may be empowered by the law of a State to exercise elements of governmental authority. They
may include public corporations, semipublic entities, public agencies of various kinds and even,
in special cases, private companies, provided that in each case the entity is empowered by the
law of the State to exercise functions of a public character normally exercised by State organs,
and the conduct of the entity relates to the exercise of the governmental authority concerned.1
Attributability in article 5 refers to the true common feature, namely that these entities
are empowered, if only to a limited extent or in a specific context, to exercise specified
elements of governmental authority.2
Ridley, a developed state ,in addressing its problems with plastic, empowered a private
corporation, MV Joy to the World to ship some debris to the developing state of Aldabra. Joys
Are Us not acting in its private capacity but an entity empowered by the state of Ridley to
exercise specific functions. Therefore,those acts are attributable to Ridley.
II. Ridley is responsible for its own failure to prevent Joys Are Us from committing such act.
Article 23 Par. 2 (b)

The wrongfulness of an act of a State not in conformity with an international
obligation of that State is precluded if the act is due to force majeure does not apply if the State
has assumed the risk of that situation occurring.
Paragraph 2 (b) deals with situations in which the State has already accepted the risk of
the occurrence of force majeure, whether it has done so in terms of the obligation itself or by
1
http://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/commentaries/9_6_2001,pp.14
2
Ibid
its conduct or by virtue of some unilateral act. This reflects the principle that force majeure
should not excuse performance if the State has undertaken to prevent the particular situation
arising or has otherwise assumed that risk. Once a State accepts the responsibility for a
particular risk it cannot then claim force majeure to avoid responsibility3
The failure of Ridley to conduct an Environmental Impact Assesment (EIA), despite the
fact that Aldabra is located in the Pacific, a hurricane prone area during the months of May to
December, assumed the risk of these events from occuring and still continued to ship the debris
which led to the sinking of Joys Are Us. Therefore, Ridley’s failure to prevent Joys Are Us to
perform such precautionary acts held them responsible.
UNCLOS
Respondents
A. Whether or not the acts of Joys Are Us is attributable to Ridley.

No, the acts of Joys Are Us is not attributable to Ridley.
Article 94(1) of UNCLOS provides, that every State shall effectively exercise its jurisdiction
and control in administrative, technical and social matters over ships flying its flag.4
In this case, MV Joy to the World is registered under the law of Aldabra and is owned by
its citizen, the said vessel is under the jurisdiction and control of the State of Aldabra. It is the
duty of the State of Aldabra to regulate the operation of MV Joy to the world. The Republic of
Ridley does not have the control over the said vessel and it does not constitute a violation to
international obligation on the part of Ridley.
Hence, the acts of Joys Are Us is not attributable to Ridley.
B. Whether or not Ridley fail to prevent Joy Are Us in committing a violation to international
obligation.
No, Ridley did not fail to prevent Joy Are Us in committing a violation to international
obligation.
Under Article 217 of UNCLOS, States shall ensure compliance by vessels flying their flag
or of their registry with applicable international rules and standards, established through the
3
http://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/commentaries/9_6_2001.pdf.pp47
4
https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/part7.htm
competent international organization or general diplomatic conference, and with their laws and
regulations adopted in accordance with this Convention for the prevention, reduction and
control of pollution of the marine environment from vessels and shall accordingly adopt laws and
regulations and take other measures necessary for their implementation. Flag States shall
provide for the effective enforcement of such rules, standards, laws and regulations, irrespective
of where a violation occurs.5
In this case, the Joy Are Us acts in its private capacity, the Republic of Ridley already
notified and urged the management of Joys Are Us to expedite their cleanup mechanism for the
WPS. The Joys Are Us does not have the authority to exercise governmental function in behalf of
Ridley. The violation committed by MV joy to the world in the State of Aldabra is attributable not
to Ridley but rather to private corporations Joy Are Us and Suction Queen.
Therefore, Ridley did not fail to prevent Joy Are Us in committing a violation to
international obligation.
C. Whether or not the exportation of trash by Joy Are Us violates international obligation.
No, the exportation of trash by Joy Are Us does not violate international obligation.
Article 200 of UNCLOS provides, States shall cooperate, directly or through competent
international organizations, for the purpose of promoting studies, undertaking programmes of
scientific research and encouraging the exchange of information and data acquired about
pollution of the marine environment. They shall endeavour to participate actively in regional and
global programmes to acquire knowledge for the assessment of the nature and extent of
pollution, exposure to it, and its pathways, risks and remedies.6
In this case, the State of Aldabra engage in these so-called waste-to-energy facilities,
wherein they accept shipment of waste from other state, in order to feed their incinerators,
which would produce energy for its consumption. In order to help Aldabra in its problem, Joy Are
Us, a private corporation in Ridley, come to an agreement with Suction Queen to provide
materials which will be feed to their incinerators to produce energy. The purpose of this
exportation of materials by Joy Are Us is to support the idea and technology of the State of
Aldabra which aims to reduce the volume of plastic waste.
Thus, the exportation of trash by Joy Are Us does not violate international obligation.
5
https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/part12.htm
6
Ibid

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1. RIDLEY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTS OF JOYS ARE US.

An internationally wrongful act of a State consists of an act that is attributable to the

I.The Act of Joys Are Us is attributable to Ridley

Article 23 Par. 2 (b)

A. Whether or not the acts of Joys Are Us is attributable to Ridley.

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