Strengthening the Rule of Law through the UN Security Council
Description
Book Chapter
Mary Ellen O'Connell, Peace through Law and the Security Council: Modelling Law Compliance, in Strengthening the Rule of Law through the UN Security Council 255 (Jeremy Farrall & Hilary Charlesworth eds., 2016)
Mary Ellen O'Connell argues that the UN has fallen short of fulfilling its purpose of saving 'succeeding generations from the scourge of war'. O'Connell proposes a new strategy for the UNSC to strengthen the ROL, which would support the UN's mission of preserving the peace. The strategy involves the UNSC both as a body and in the individual capacity of members, modelling 'law compliance' with respect to the use of force. This approach echoes the work of regulatory theorists who argue that positive modelling is an effective regulatory strategy to promote self-regulation. According to O'Connell, the principles of necessity and proportionality must govern not just the way force is used, but also the initial decision to authorise force in the first place. Similarly, the UNSC must respect important structural rules of the international legal system, in particular the principle of non-intervention.