The Rule of Law in Peace and Capacity Building Operations: Moving beyond a Conventional State-Centred Imagination

2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 267-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Hunt ◽  
Bryn Hughes
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Capacity Building ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Peace Operations ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
International Interventions

AbstractAlthough the 'rule of law' is now widely recognised as indispensable to effective peace operations, its delineation remains elusive. Researchers contest its substance while those most responsible for its implementation (e. g. the United Nations) promulgate only abstract notions needed to inform detailed decisions. At its worst, this means that competing reform activities undermine each other, making long term success less likely. The questions we address are about the deficiencies in how rule of law is conceived. Particular attention is paid to the little recognised assumption that the Weberian state ideal corresponds to the societies on the receiving end of international interventions. After a review of extant academic and practitioner viewpoints, we set out a postWeberian framework which expands the dominant imagination to include non-state rule of law 'providers'. We argue that the optimum sources for immediate yet sustainable rule of law solutions may often be those which bear little resemblance to the conventional state-based providers that populate mainstream conceptions.

Securing the Rule of Law through un Peace Operations in Liberia

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-248
Author(s):  
Shane Chalmers ◽  
Jeremy Farrall
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Second Law ◽  
Peace Operations ◽  
Security Sector ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Dependent Relationship ◽  
The United Nations

In this article, we examine how the tension between justice and force informs the efforts of the United Nations (un) to promote the rule of law through its peace operations. We begin by showing how the un’s discourse of ‘securing peace’ has three antagonistic propositions holding it together in a combustible way. The propositions are: first, peace contains the force of war; second, law contains the force of peace; and third, justice contains the force of law. With the antagonistic arrangement of these propositions in mind, we then show how the un has developed two contrasting approaches to promoting the rule of law through its peace operations, which we describe as its ‘aspirational’ and ‘operational’ visions of the rule of law. The aspirational vision combines the need for an effective and accountable security sector with a focus on the substantive requirements of justice, thus aspiring to bring all three propositions together in the rule of law. By contrast, the un’s operational vision prioritizes security, stability and order, thus losing sight of the importance of justice. We demonstrate this divergence between the un’s aspirational and operational visions through a study of the un’s peace operations in Liberia between 1993 and 2014, with a focus on the rule of law promotion activities of the un Mission in Liberia (unmil). We argue that the un’s efforts to promote the rule of law through its peace operations risk establishing the conditions for a state of tyranny if they lose sight of the antagonistic but co-dependent relationship between justice and force. The challenge is to prioritize the requirements of force and justice at the same time. While this will not resolve their antagonistic relationship, it has the virtue of acknowledging their co-dependency as an uncomfortable yet unavoidable condition of a state based on the rule of law.

Stakeholder Theory and Justice Issues: The Leap from Business Management to Contemporary International Law

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-180
Author(s):  
Bronik Matwijkiw ◽  
Anja Matwijkiw
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Stakeholder Theory ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Business Management ◽  
Secretary General ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
The United Nations

AbstractIn this article, the two authors examine the leap from business management to contemporary international law in the context of stakeholder theory. Because stakeholder theory was developed for business management, they provide a thorough account of the original framework. Furthermore, to illustrate the theory's application as a recently adopted parameter for the United Nations, they use former Secretary-General Kofi Atta Annan's 2004-report to the Security Council, "The Rule of Law and Transitional Justice in Conflict and Post-Conflict Societies". Proceeding on the hypothesis that while all premises ultimately match traditional positions in general jurisprudence, it appears that stakeholder theory nevertheless forces the United Nations to take sides in an unprecedented manner, especially pertaining to rights-typology and the credentials-checking for this. Finally, some of the most important implications are distilled as part of an attempt to formulate a few recommendations for United Nations justice managers and administrators.

The Rule of Law and Human Rights in the Balkans

2000 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 223-256
Author(s):  
L. C. Green
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Viable Alternative ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
The United Nations

SummaryThe author considers the application of relevant human rights provisions to the Balkans both historically and in terms of contemporary issues. In particular, he discusses the legality of the measures taken under the auspices of NATO in respect of Kosovo and queries whether such measures are able to remedy such a breakdown of civil administration and respect for human rights. In the author's view, in such circumstances, administration of a country by the United Nations itself provides the only viable alternative.

THE OWNERSHIP OF CONFISCATED PROCEEDS OF CORRUPTION UNDER THE UN CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION

2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 669-694
Author(s):  
Anton Moiseienko
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Fundamental Principle ◽  
The State ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations

AbstractArticle 51 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption sets forth the return of assets diverted through corruption as a fundamental principle of the Convention. This raises the question of whether the State where the stolen assets are located is entitled to refuse their repatriation or subject it to certain conditions. This article analyses the Convention and the policy considerations behind it and argues that such a State has a wider discretion over the return of stolen assets than is often thought. Furthermore, the article argues that the rule of law may be better served if States take vigorous action to confiscate the proceeds of corruption regardless of whether they are ultimately repatriated.

scholarly journals The value of the United Nations in resolving problems of the rule of law in conflict States

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-162
Author(s):  
N I Kostenko
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Years Of Experience ◽  
Effective Protection ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Sustainable Peace ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
The United Nations

In this paper, the author tries to analyze the main extracted from the work of the United Nations according to the rule of law in the States for the last fifteen years. The analysis shows that the rule of law and the approval of the rule of law in the States for the last fifteen years of experience - is fundamental to sustainable peace after conflict, for the effective protection of human rights. Keywords: problems of justice, the rule of law, the rule of law, peacekeeping operations, the UN standards.

Informal Justice and United Nations Peace Operations

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-192
Author(s):  
Bruce Oswald
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Peace Operations ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Informal Justice ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Serious Crime ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Military Members ◽  
Justice Systems

This paper seeks to address how UN military members undertaking UN peacekeeping operations should engage with customary or informal justice systems that they encounter. The relevant guidance that exists suggests that, as a policy matter, informal justice systems should not be allowed to deal with matters of serious crime because of the danger they may violate basic rights, and because dealing with serious crime is a key prerogative of the state. However, there is a growing movement away from adopting a unitary, state-centric rule of law orthodoxy approach, towards viewing the rule of law from the perspective of legal pluralism. Using that perspective, and in acknowledging that military members of UN peace operations are highly likely to be confronted by informal justice systems during peace operations, this paper maps three principles that UN military members should apply when dealing with informal justice systems in the context of UN peace operations: giving due regard to applicable informal justice systems, maintaining oversight of the application of informal justice norms and practices, and avoiding corrupting informal justice systems.

The Dual Face of Sovereignty

2020 ◽  
pp. 875-885
Author(s):  
Hans Köchler
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Security Council ◽  
Separation Of Powers ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Sovereign Equality ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
The United Nations

This chapter explores the dialectic of power and law as exemplified in the ambiguous status of sovereignty, in particular in the Charter and practice of the United Nations Organization. One of the main challenges for the rule of law, whether domestic or international, is how to enforce legal norms without privileging the enforcers. This is where sovereignty has revealed its dual face in relations between states. Unlike domestic constitutional systems, the framework of norms of the United Nations lacks basic elements of a separation of powers, granting special status to states that were the most powerful upon the Organization’s foundation. The Charter’s principle of sovereign equality stands in direct contradiction to the norms regulating the use of coercive powers by the UN Security Council. Analyzing multilateral as well as unilateral sanctions regimes, the chapter explains how the antagonism between equality and “coercive privilege” has enabled major global players to evade scrutiny of their conduct, and proposes an amendment of the wording of Article 27(3) of the Charter.

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