Nigel D. White

European security law

INTRODUCTION 1. An Introduction to European Security Law PART 1: ORIGINS AND FUTURE OF EUROPEAN SECURITY INTEGRATION 2. The Vision of the European Defence Community and a Common Defence for the European Union 3. On the Common Security and Defence Policy of the EU Constitutional Treaty PART 2: ELEMENTS OF EUROPEAN SECURITY POLICY 4. ESDP in Practice: Increasingly Varied and Ambitious EU Security and Defence Operations 5. EU Peacekeeping Operations: Legal and Theoretical Issues 6. Extraterritorial Collective Security: The European Union and Operation Artemis 7. The Anti-Terrorism Dimension of ESDP 8. Common European Defence: Competition or Compatibility with NATO? 9. The European Armaments Policy: A Conditio Sine Qua Non of the European Security and Defence Policy? PART 3: CONSISTENCY OF THE EUROPEAN SECURITY FRAMEWORK 10. Differentiation in EU Foreign, Security and Defence Policy: Between Coherence and Flexibility 11. Security and Defence Policy within the Context of EU External Relations: Issues of Coherence, Consistency, and Effectiveness 12. EU-NATO Relations: Interoperability as a Strategic Consideration and a Legal Requirement 13. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and European Security Law 14. The EU as a Regional Security Actor within the International Legal Order CONCLUSION 15. Conclusions on the Current State of European Security Law

The Will and Authority of the Security Council after Iraq

One year after the invasion of Iraq, what lessons are to be drawn about the role of the Security Council in peace and security? This article looks at the issue by considering the nature of the Security Council in its dual functions as a forum for diplomacy and a corporate body for executive action. The idea of the Security Councils possessing a separate will in its executive function is developed. The article stresses the importance for the authority of the Council of that organ expressing its will within the legal parameters of the Charter and international law. It is argued that similar legal parameters are also applicable to the permanent members in exercising their power of veto and in interpreting resolutions. Further, when interpreting resolutions member states should not misconstrue the will of the Council. The Iraq crisis of 2003 raised all these issues and, further, necessitated a reappraisal of the rules of international law governing the use of force. This article considers the relationship between diminution in Council authority and erosion of the rules of the UN Charter governing the threat or use of force in international relations.

U.N. Peacekeeping - Development or Destruction?

no new peacekeeping forces were authorized after the expulsion of the Middle East force by President Nasser of Egypt which was followed by the Six Day War of 1967, the growth of peacekeeping continued in the 1970s with three further forces in the Middle East, between Egypt and Israel and on the Golan Heights following the Yom Kippur War of 1973, and in Lebanon in 1978 following the Israeli invasion of that country.’ 1

The UN charter and peacekeeping forces: Constitutional issues

The inconclusive formalist debate on the constitutional basis of peacekeeping can lead to scepticism over the relevance of law to peacekeeping. A contextual approach to the law based on an understanding of the shaping and ultimate dependence of law on politics frees the international lawyer from dry and circular discussion. In this light constitutional issues about the origins and the control of peacekeeping operations are seen to be of paramount importance in the understanding and development of peacekeeping. The potentially restrictive formalist doctrine of implied powers is shown to be a sham behind which the reality is that of a wider, but not unlimited, doctrine of inherent powers. Such a doctrine enables the United Nations to create a wide variety of peacekeeping forces, though the creation and control of such forces is shown to be subject to the constitutional structure of the UN. As regards peacekeeping, the division of competence between the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Secretar...

Accountability and Democracy Within the United Nations: a Legal Perspective:

The move towards a limited form of global governance by the United Nations has led to demands for an increase in the organization’s accountability and in its democratic representation.2 The purpose of this article is to examine the levels of democracy and accountability present in the United Nations system (including the specialized agencies), working from the constitutional base of the organization its Charter (and the constituent documents of the specialized agencies). This will give the piece its legal perspective, though hopefully the interpretation, application and deficiencies of the constitutional documents will open the debate

Collective Sanctions: an Alternative To Military Coercion ?

terms of their legality and effectiveness becomes apparent. This overview will examine the mandatory sanctions regimes imposed by the United Nations, along with a selection of examples from the Organization of American States and the European Union, organizations which appear to be the main examples of regional bodies using this coercive power. Most other organizations have not developed or used the power to impose economic sanctions, they have simply recommended them on a voluntary basis.

Libya and lessons from Iraq: international law and the use of force by the United Kingdom

Those countries, including the United Kingdom, using force in Libya in 2011 have taken much greater care to ensure that their actions are underpinned by legality. This suggests a return to respect for the jus ad bellum, but as the operation against Libya unfolded it became clearer that some of the problems that undermined the legality and legitimacy of the invasion of Iraq 8 years earlier had not been avoided, which raises the question of how such operations can be kept within the strict bounds of the law.

Empowering Peace Operations to Protect Civilians: Form over Substance?

This article will consider the evolution of the doctrines of peacekeeping and military enforcement, and the problematic move towards convergence. It will focus in particular on the predominance since the turn of the century of what are labelled protection mandates – mandates that authorize peacekeepers to protect civilians. In so doing it raises the question of whether the increased use of chapter VII mandates has had a positive impact in terms of lives saved. Further empirical work will be needed if this hypothesis is to be tested properly, though this paper incorporates some initial findings, based on UN reports from both the DR Congo and Darfur.

The Externalization of Peacekeeping: Policy, Responsibility, and Accountability

The post-Cold War trend towards the privatization of some of the security and military functions of post-conflict and conflict operations conducted by states is extending to peacekeeping operations undertaken by the UN and other organizations. This article examines the policies behind the increased use of private military and security contractors (PMSCs) in peacekeeping, considers the obstacles to accountability and responsibility caused by this development, and suggests ways of overcoming these obstacles to provide remedies for victims of human rights abuse at the hands of such contractors.

The ties that bind: the EU, the UN and international law

The focus of the article is on the activities of the European Union and the United Nations in the fields of peace and security, human rights and democracy. These represent not only crucial issues uniting both the EU and the UN in their external actions, but are also founded upon, or at least affected by, fundamental principles of international law. It is argued that a coherent strategy for achieving long term peace and stability in regional and international relations must be based on respect for these fundamental principles as well as rules of international law derived from these principles. Such principles are not just abstract legal constructs but are a reflection of the values that international actors – states, organisations and others – have held since the UN Charter ushered in a new world order in 1945. Situating both organisations within the international legal order should enhance the legitimacy and arguably the effectiveness of the two organisations whether they act singly or together. Increasingly, the activities of the EU and the UN overlap in matters of peace, security, human rights and democracy. This overlap has the potential to result in confrontation, as well as what would normally be aspired to – co-operation. It is therefore essential to identify the underlying principles and rules governing the organisations and their activities. It is argued that these principles and rules should be recognised and reinforced if we are to have organisational activity that is more than discretionary or arbitrary.