Caire Claim 2yl3j

Jean-Baptiste Caire Claim(1929) FACTS: On 11 December 1914, Jean-Baptiste Caire, a French national, was unlawfully shot and killed at an army barracks in Mexico by two Mexican army officers, a major and a captain aided by a few privates, after Caire refused a demand by one of the officers to pay a sum of money. This prompted Caire’s widow to sue Mexico for indemnity. ISSUE: WON Mexico is responsible for actions of individual military personnel acting without orders or against the wishes of their commanding officers HELD: YES. The French-Mexican Claims Commission held that Mexico was internationally responsible for the conduct of the army officers. In this regard, Presiding Commissioner Verzijl observed that, under the doctrine of objective responsibility (state responsibility for the acts of state officials or state organs even in the absence of “fault” on the part of the state), a state is internationally responsible for acts committed by its officials or organs outside their competence if the officials or organs “acted at least to all appearances as competent officials or organs, or… used powers or methods appropriate to their official capacity… .” Here, The officers in question … consistently conducted themselves as officers …; in this capacity they began by exacting the remittance of certain sums of money; they continued by having the victim taken to a barracks of the occupying troops; and it was clearly because of the refusal of Caire to meet their repeated demands that they finally shot him. Under these circumstances, there remains no doubt that, even if they are to be regarded as having acted outside their competence, which is by no means certain, and even if their superior officers issued a counter-order, these two officers have involved the responsibility of the State, in view of the fact that they acted in their capacity of officers and used the means placed at their disposition by virtue of that capacity. Indemnity awarded.