European Union law

The eleventh entry is a responsabilidade do Estado, and its English name is « state liability », never « state responsibility ». The difference is not a matter of taste. English has cut one idea in two, and the cut runs along the line of who pays. « Responsibility » is the duty a person or a body carries, the job that falls to them and the blame if it is left undone: « ministerial responsibility », « he took responsibility for the delay ». « Liability » is the legal obligation to make the loss good in money, and it can land on somebody who did nothing whatever: « employer’s liability », « the insurer’s liability ». Portuguese carries both inside a responsabilidade and lets the sentence decide, which is why a responsabilidade do Estado cobre o dano do particular needs the second word rather than the first. One further trap is worth naming: « state responsibility » is already occupied, in public international law, by what one state owes another. Written here, it moves the claim from a citizen to a country.