The Conflictual Promises of the United Nations' Rule of Law Agenda: Challenges for Post-Conflict Societies

2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 131-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphanie Vig
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
International Norms ◽  
Peace Building ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
National Ownership

AbstractThe role of UN missions in post-conflict societies has progressed through peace-keeping and peace-making to a more recent emphasis on peace-building. To accompany this new focus, the UN has articulated a rule of law agenda, two central components of which are promoting international norms and standards and facilitating national ownership. This paper explores the self-sanctioned role the UN has awarded itself in promoting the rule of law in post-conflict societies by exploring each one of these two central components and their interaction.Meritorious in their own right, the potential of these two components of the rule of law agenda may position the UN in situations where both cannot be satisfied contemporaneously. In implementing its rule of law agenda, the United Nations will likely come to face the prospect of a local authority seeking to differ from international norms and standards. In such circumstances, the UN's rule of law agenda makes conflictual promises. The choices and prioritization that the UN will be called upon to make in such circumstances will reveal much about how it conceptualizes its role in promoting the rule of law in post-conflict societies. This paper seeks to delineate the nature of the choices confronting the United Nations in pursuit of its rule of law agenda.

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.

Promoting Democratic Governance and Preventing the Recurrence of Conflict: The Role of the United Nations Development Programme in Post-Conflict Peace-Building

2002 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 555-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
CARLOS SANTISO
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Central America ◽  
Development Programme ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
United Nations Development Programme ◽  
Peace Building ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Nations Development

Promoting democracy and strengthening good governance have become core components of post-conflict peace-building initiatives of the United Nations (UN). An often overlooked dimension of the analysis of UN peace support operations has been the crucial role played by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at the critical juncture linking peacekeeping to sustainable development. UN peace operations in Central America over the last decade have pioneered the organisation's involvement in the uncharted territory of post-conflict peace building. UNDP's Central American experience was the first step in the organisation's evolution away from providing traditional development assistance, towards playing an active and openly political role in post-conflict democracy building and governance reform. This new role of the UNDP has had dramatic repercussions on its mandate, administrative structures, corporate policies and operational strategies. The current institutional renewal of UNDP has its roots in its endorsement of democratic governance as essential dimensions of its mandate to promote sustainable human development. This article assesses the significance, promises and dilemmas of the governance agenda for UNDP and analyses the scope, nature and institutionalisation of democracy and governance programmes within UNDP, using Central America as a case study. It argues that the future of UNDP democracy assistance will largely depend on how successful it is at resolving the inherent tensions between democracy promotion and national sovereignty, while retaining its multilateral approach to peace and democracy.

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.

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.

The Rule of Law and Good Governance at the United Nations during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-422
Author(s):  
Christiane Ahlborn
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Emergency Measures

Abstract This contribution discusses how the United Nations (UN) adapted to the working conditions under the COVID-19 pandemic while respecting the rule of law and good governance at different levels. The article first examines what the rule of law means in the UN context. On this basis, the article then considers the different COVID-19-related emergency measures taken by the UN with a focus on four of the UN principal organs: the Secretariat, the Security Council, the General Assembly, and the International Court of Justice. Overall, the UN has succeeded in maintaining public trust, including the trust of its member states, in responding to and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic because it continued to respect standards of good governance and the rule of law during the pandemic. Moreover, the UN has learned important lessons that will allow it to adapt even better to future emergencies.

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