Privatización de servicios esenciales, responsabilidad internacional del Estado y derechos humanos

Juan Bautista Justo

Authors

Juan Bautista Justo Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Argentina

Keywords:

public utility, privatization, international responsibility, attribution, human rights

Abstract

One of the main reasons employed to justify the privatization of essential services -such as water, electricity, gas, health or education- is that, by doing so, the State frees itself of the burdens and duties linked to these activities, and shifts them to the private sector. This is not true. The provision of essential services is an activity governed by international law and, under this regime, the actions of the utility company are directly attributed to the State. This means that the State remains responsible for the privatized activity. If the private firm violates any human right, this violation is imputable to the State, which must cease and repair it. Consequently, the State is not freed from any liability when it privatizes activities related to human rights. This factor must be taken into account by governments when analyzing this kind of initiatives

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Author Biography

Juan Bautista Justo, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Argentina

Profesor de Derecho Administrativo, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Argentina

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