Abstract
Under international law all sovereign states enjoy certain rights and perform and observe their duties towards other states. With respect to state responsibility, the Permanent Court of International Justice ruled in 1928, in the case of Germany v Poland, that any violation of the rights resulting in an injury shall create an obligation to compensate the injured state with an award of damages. Today, there is a proliferation of private groups and organizations which continue to threaten international and domestic peace and stability. These private groups launch armed attacks, which are considered terrorist attacks on states. The most difficult obstacle in addressing this problem is the fact that such armed private groups exist, and are located within the territory of the states. Consequently, the injured state may, as an act of self defense, attack the terrorist group. However, this cannot be done without attacking the state in which they are operating.
