Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.3935/zpfz.75.1.4
International Legal Limitations of the Use of the Veto Right in the UN Security Council in Light of the Current Threats to International Peace and Security
Rutvica Rusan Novokmet
orcid.org/0000-0002-6235-1012
; Pravni fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
In the last few years, we have witnessed serious violations of human rights, as well as the most serious international crimes committed on the territory of Europe and the Middle East, which undoubtedly threaten international peace and security. At the same time, the Security Council as the main and the most responsible organ of the UN for the maintenance of international peace and security, due to the frequent use of veto or threat to use veto by some permanent members, is incompetent to adequately sanction these situations. In this context, it is crucial to examine whether there are rules of international law, which impose restrictions of the use of the veto right within the Council as a political and executive organ of the UN. Therefore, the subject of this paper is the analysis of the relevant provisions of the UN Charter, which represent the fundamental legal framework for the activities and the decision-making process in the Council, with which the use of veto of the permanent Members should be harmonized. On the other hand, the author questions the effect of jus cogens norms on the use of the veto right through the analysis of the prohibition of genocide as well as the duty to prevent genocide as imperative norms of international law. The author warns that permanent members of the Security Council both as member states of the UN as well as parties to the Genocide Convention should be subjected to the international legal limitations founded in the Charter and in imperative norms of international law when making decisions on measures necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security. It is concluded that the permanent members of the Council should refrain from using the veto in situations where there is an obvious risk of the most serious human rights violations; in other words, they should not oppose the adoption of coercive measures intended for the suppression of the most serious international crimes against the civilian population.
Ključne riječi
Security Council of the UN; right to veto; UN Charter; jus cogens norms of international law; international peace and security
Hrčak ID:
330118
URI
Datum izdavanja:
14.4.2025.
Posjeta: 1.121 *