Background The principle nemo iudex in causa sua—no one should be a judge in their own cause—has deep roots in international law, yet its codification in the UN Charter has often been disregarded. Article 27(3) requires a State that is a party to a dispute to abstain from voting on related Security Council resolutions under Chapter VI, provided the matter is non-procedural. Although long viewed as dormant, the Russia–Ukraine war has revived interest in this principle. The last notable compliance with Article 27(3) dates back to the Eichmann case in 1961, when Argentina abstained. Since then, the rule’s relevance has been questioned, particularly amid Russia’s repeated vetoes of Ukraine-related resolutions following its 2014 annexation of Crimea and the 2022 invasion. Given Russia’s clear status as a ‘party to the dispute,’ scholars and practitioners have seen an opportunity to reassert Article 27(3) and to crystallize a workable definition of that term.
United Nations
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“Detained or Not Detained”: The First General Comment of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture
The Optional Protocol to the UN Torture Convention (OPCAT) is unique amongst the UN human rights treaties and their Optional Protocols. Unique as it is not normative because it does not set out a new right which would be additional to those elaborated in the Torture Convention itself. Nor is it purely procedural as it…
Legal Limits for UNSC Action on Peace in Ukraine
The last weeks have seen a gradual increase of pressure on the Ukrainian leadership to succumb to Russia’s imperialist demands. In particular, the United States of America under the Trump Administration have repeated their calls for a “Peace Deal” between the two states at war. The Administration suspended military and intelligence aid to Ukraine after asserting that President…
Regulating Private Military and Security Companies: What’s in it for States?
Private military and security companies (PMSCs) are expanding like wildfire across the world, diversifying clients and operations. They offer services ranging from protection and training to direct participation in hostilities, arms dealing, and humanitarian evacuations. Their impact on human rights—particularly on civilians, women, children, and migrants—as well as on the environment, has been…
International Law as a Common Heritage of Mankind
In 1990, when the European Journal of International Law (EJIL) had its first issue, its founders, including myself, obviously stressed in their first editorial the link between international law and the construction of the European Union. The socio-political context in which the Journal had just been launched was very different from that which prevails today.
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