Security council change: The pressure of emerging international public policy

In: International journal / Canadian International Council: Canada's journal of global policy analysis, Band 65, Heft 1, S. 119-139

Abstract

The author demonstrates how the collective security system of the UN charter has changed in meaning and purpose over time in response to the evolution of the international legal system. The article argues that from a systemic perspective, the security council enforces fundamental norms of international law and even acts as a 'world legislature,' departing from the kinds of functions it was originally intended to exercise. Though it exercises the power of a judicial organ, the security council is not bound to legal procedure and thus at times has arrived at the wrong conclusions. The UN has become active in the direct lawmaking process, introducing new, abstract and general norms of international law that are open-ended, applicable to all states and distinct from its formal enforcement powers. The council has directly shaped international law in a number of fields, including terrorism and children in armed conflict. The author emphasizes that instituting legal review of the resolutions of the security council should be considered distinct from the question of the legal constraints to its powers. Adapted from the source document.