Overview

This book examines how the United Nations Security Council, in exercising its power to impose binding non-forcible measures ('sanctions') under Article 41 of the UN Charter, may violate international law. The Council may overstep limits on its power imposed by the UN Charter itself and by general international law, including human rights guarentees. Such acts may engage the international responsibility of the United Nations, the organization of which the Security Council is an organ. Disobeying the Security Council discusses how and by whom the responsibility of the UN for unlawful Security Council sanctions can be determined; in other words, how the UN can be held to account for Security Council excesses.The central thesis of this work is that states can respond to unlawful sanctions imposed by the Security Council, in a decentralized manner, by disobeying the Security Council's command. In international law, this disobedience can be justified as constituting a countermeasure to the Security Council's unlawful act. Recent practice of states, both in the form of executive acts and court decisions, demonstrates an increasing tendency to disobey sanctions that are perceived as unlawful. After discussing other possible qualifications of disobedience under international law, the book concludes that this practice can (and should) be qualified as a countermeasure.

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9780199670734

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Reviews

Antonios Tzanakopoulos's argument is supported by numerous references, both classical and contemporary, which make up a wide panorama of the current state of research. . . Always, the position set out by the author enriches the debate over the question of the legality of the control of the Council, at a moment when it is multiplying the sanctions which are targeted and when its role as World legislator is criticised. * Annuaire francais de droit international 01/02/2012 * While the book is well written and structured, the sheer density of argument, the wealth of research, and the depth of thought make it a very rewarding yet equally challenging read. * Thomas Lieflaender, Leiden Journal of International Law * Irrespective of the interest it sparks of its own accord, Antonio Tzanakopoulos' book undeniably comes at the right moment. * Frederic Dopagne, Netherlands International Law Review * [The author] has a rigorous and logical way of formatting legal arguments in the debate. This work is certainly a necessary item on the shelf of every specialist dealing with issues of international responsibility. * PANSTWO i PRAWO (State and Law) * ...the book is a thoughtful study of topical and important issues surrounding the responsibility of the UN and international organizations in general...Scholars and practitioners in international law and relations will benefit handsomely from reading this book. * Sienho Yee, Wuhan University Institute of International Law, Chinese Journal of International Law * Antonios Tzanakopoulos has written a powerful book in Disobeying the Security Council. It is a rich - at times very rich - piece of scholarship... * Marko Milanovic, Edinburgh Law Review * I am happy to recommend Disobeying the Security Council. It is a substantial achievement. It repays careful reading and will without a doubt spark debate. It has certainly sharpened my view on the subjects of which it treats. * Matthew Happold, Professor of Public International Law at the University of Luxembourg * [T]he work is highly creative and reveals remarkable intellectual discipline and technical accomplishment. It constitutes a valuable contribution to the debate about the nature of the Security Council's powers and exposes once again the limits of the international legal order in constraining the exercise of public power by international organisations. * Erika de Wet, Professor of International Constitutional Law, University of Amsterdam and Co-Director of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa, University of Pretoria * Disobeying the Security Council is to be recommended as an important work of scholarship. It displays a richness of argument backed by a depth of research. It repays careful reading and will, without doubt, spark debate and sharpen views on the subjects which it treats. * Matthew Happold, British Yearbook of International Law * This monograph is one of the first to systematically address an increasingly important problem, namely the reaction to excesses of power, or unlawful acts, of the Security Council...By its subject, and the way it goes about addressing it, this book is solidly devoted to these increasingly pressing questions. The author demonstrates several qualities: expertise...; a distinctive subtlety and a capacity to sustain a powerful argument; a remarkable knowledge of general international law which underlies and visibly strengthens the argument; a concentration on the essential questions only [and] a palpable mastery of the subject ... . In sum, Dr Tzanakopoulos offers us an image of a next generation of international lawyers of which we can be proud. * Robert Kolb, Professeur de droit international public a l'Universite de Geneve, Journal du Droit International *

This monograph is one of the first to systematically address an increasingly important problem, namely the reaction to excesses of power, or unlawful acts, of the Security Council...By its subject, and the way it goes about addressing it, this book is solidly devoted to these increasingly pressing questions. The author demonstrates several qualities: expertise...; a distinctive subtlety and a capacity to sustain a powerful argument; a remarkable knowledge of general international law which underlies and visibly strengthens the argument; a concentration on the essential questions only [and] a palpable mastery of the subject ... . In sum, Dr Tzanakopoulos offers us an image of a next generation of international lawyers of which we can be proud. Robert Kolb, Professeur de droit international public a l'Universite de Geneve, Journal du Droit International Disobeying the Security Council is to be recommended as an important work of scholarship. It displays a richness of argument backed by a depth of research. It repays careful reading and will, without doubt, spark debate and sharpen views on the subjects which it treats. Matthew Happold, British Yearbook of International Law [T]he work is highly creative and reveals remarkable intellectual discipline and technical accomplishment. It constitutes a valuable contribution to the debate about the nature of the Security Council's powers and exposes once again the limits of the international legal order in constraining the exercise of public power by international organisations. Erika de Wet, Professor of International Constitutional Law, University of Amsterdam and Co-Director of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa, University of Pretoria I am happy to recommend Disobeying the Security Council. It is a substantial achievement. It repays careful reading and will without a doubt spark debate. It has certainly sharpened my view on the subjects of which it treats. Matthew Happold, Professor of Public International Law at the University of Luxembourg Antonios Tzanakopoulos has written a powerful book in Disobeying the Security Council. It is a rich - at times very rich - piece of scholarship... Marko Milanovic, Edinburgh Law Review ...the book is a thoughtful study of topical and important issues surrounding the responsibility of the UN and international organizations in general...Scholars and practitioners in international law and relations will benefit handsomely from reading this book. Sienho Yee, Wuhan University Institute of International Law, Chinese Journal of International Law [The author] has a rigorous and logical way of formatting legal arguments in the debate. This work is certainly a necessary item on the shelf of every specialist dealing with issues of international responsibility. PANSTWO i PRAWO (State and Law) Irrespective of the interest it sparks of its own accord, Antonio Tzanakopoulos' book undeniably comes at the right moment. Frederic Dopagne, Netherlands International Law Review While the book is well written and structured, the sheer density of argument, the wealth of research, and the depth of thought make it a very rewarding yet equally challenging read. Thomas Lieflaender, Leiden Journal of International Law Antonios Tzanakopoulos's argument is supported by numerous references, both classical and contemporary, which make up a wide panorama of the current state of research... Always, the position set out by the author enriches the debate over the question of the legality of the control of the Council, at a moment when it is multiplying the sanctions which are targeted and when its role as World legislator is criticised. Annuaire francais de droit international 01/02/2012

Author Information

Antonios Tzanakopoulos is a University Lecturer in Public International Law at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St Anne's College. Prior to that he was a Lecturer in Public International Law at University College London. He has taught at the Universities of Oxford and Glasgow. He studied law in Athens, New York, and Oxford. Antonios is a qualified lawyer with the Athens Bar in Greece, Associate Editor for the Oxford Reports on International Law in Domestic Courts, and collaborateur scientifique of the Hellenic Institute for International and Foreign Law.

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