United Nations and the Development of Collective Security

This book examines one of the most important challenges facing the United Nations today: the effective and lawful use of force by or under the authority of the UN to maintain or restore peace. In particular, the book provides a legal analysis of the institutional mechanisms and processes which the UN employs to use force to maintain or restore peace. The UN Security Council is the main organ of the UN entrusted with the responsibility for the maintenance or restoration of peace. It is given broad powers of enforcement under Chapter VII of the UN Charter in order to achieve this objective. However, the Charter provision which was intended to provide the Council with a standing military force to carry out enforcement action has not as yet been implemented. In response, the Council has sought to deal with an increasing demand for militaryenforcement action by delegating its powers in this area to other UN organs (e.g. the UN Secretary-General in Somalia, and the War Crimes Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia), UN Member States (e.g. the coalition against Iraq), and regional and collective self-defence organizations (e.g. NATOin Bosnia). It is this process of delegation of military enforcement powers by the Council which is the focus of the book. By examining the legal framework which governs the process of a delegation by the Council of its Chapter VII powers; the practice relating to the exercise of these powers by each of the delegates concerned; and the policy issues relating to such delegations, the book makes a significant contribution to the content of the law pertaining to the use of force by the UN andprovides guidance as to the likely future developments in the legal framework governing collective action to maintain peace under the auspices of the United Nations.

contains a thorough and meticulous analysis of the legal implications of the doctrine of delegation when applied in the field of collective security ... this book is a valuable contribution to the literature on the UN collective security system, The strength of the study lies in the thoroughness of analysis demonstrated throughout the work. ...an impressively constructed piece of scholarly research. ...a practitioner's guide foe both academics and diplomats on the subject of Chapter VII delegations of a power. With sweeping efficiency, Sarooshi makes sense out of a previously nebulous corpus of Security Council practice, in the process creating a comprehensive benchmark for the comparison of all future Chapter VII delegations., The strength of the study lies in the thoroughness of analysis demonstrated throughout the work.....an impressively constructed piece of scholarly research.....a practitioner's guide for both academics and diplomats on the subject of Chapter VII delegationsof power. With sweeping efficiency, Sarooshi makes sense out of a previously nebulous corpus of Security Council practice, in the process creating a comprehensive benchmark for the comparison of all future Chapter VII delegations., The attraction to the author's method is its simplicity, and it is a simplicity that belies an ability to resolve even the most complex issues. Once the theoretical structure is erected, Sarooshi can turn to analyze actual situations armed with an analytical tool of the first rate. Sarooshi's trenchant work, besides providing an invaluable analytical tool, is a remarkable compilation of UN practice and an immensely helpful legal resource., the examination is impressive. there can be no doubt that this study constitutes an invaluable addition to the body of knowledge in this constantly evolving area.

Dan Sarooshi is Senior Lecturer in Public international law at University College London