The United Nations And The Principle Of Non-Intervention In Matters Essentially Within The Domestic Jurisdiction Of State

Jones, Goronwy John (1976). The United Nations And The Principle Of Non-Intervention In Matters Essentially Within The Domestic Jurisdiction Of State. MPhil thesis The Open University.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21954/ou.ro.0000fcc5

Abstract

The basic purpose of this study is to present what conclusions may be drawn from the practice of the United Nations in relation to the principle of non-intervention in matters essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of states under Article 2(7) of the Charter, the text of which is as follows:

Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorise the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter: but this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter VII.

In the light of the discussions at the San Francisco Conference in 1945, it was the evident intention of those who drafted Article 2(7) that organs should not interfere in any way in matters traditionally regarded within the domestic jurisdiction of states, the only exception to this general principle being the competence of the Security Council to authorise enforcement measures to maintain or restore international peace and security if it determined that a situation arising out of a matter essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of a state constituted a threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression.

This study, having placed the subject in historical perspective, examines how far UN organs have observed or departed from this interpretation of Article 2(7) in human rights and colonial questions, peacekeeping operations, the regulation and reduction of national statements, and economic and social questions, and assesses the impact of their decisions on the development of the Organisation.

The general conclusion is reached that whilst it is judicious that the organs of the United Nations should refrain from interfering in the affairs of states not covered by precise international legal obligations, it is desirable that UN members should consent to a greater diminution of their domestic jurisdiction in favour of such obligations, in order to make international co-operation more effective in the security, political, economic and social fields.