Haunted by the past? Belgium's international responsibility for the atrocities of the Congo Free State and the question of State succession in matters of international responsibility

The present paper addresses the question whether Belgium is responsible under international law for the atrocities committed in the era of the Congo Free State (1885-1908). In section 1, we first address how Leopold II was able to acquire enormous tracts of land in Central Africa and to secure international recognition for his ‘Congo Free State’. Following a brief description of Leopold’s brutal regime of exploitation, we explain how the King was compelled to hand over his colony to Belgium. Subsequently, in section 2, we map various obstacles that would have to be overcome in order to hold Belgium internationally responsible for the atrocities of the Congo Free State, including the need to establish the existence of internationally wrongful conduct (notwithstanding the inter -temporality principle). Having tentatively mapped some of the most pressing challenges, section 3 moves to the main legal question addressed in this paper, and provides — for the first time — an in-depth treatment of the question of state succession with regard to the obligations resulting from internationally wrongful conduct of the Congo Free State. First, the general rules on State succession in matters of State responsibility will be examined, against the background of the recent reports of the ILC Special Rapporteur on this matter. Next, we examine the impact of the 1907 Treaty of Cession between Belgium and the Congo Free State, as well the extent to which Belgium could be said to have accepted and acknowledged responsibility for the conduct of the Congo Free State towards its population or benefited from ‘unjust enrichment’