Legal Aspects of the Transfer of Authority in UN Peace Operations

Abstract

United Nations Peace Operations and UN mandated Peace Enforcement Operations, which are usually conducted by regional organizations or ad hoc coalitions of States, are wholly dependent upon the voluntary contribution of troops by Member States. This involves transferring parts of command authority to the United Nations or to the regional organization which has undertaken the mission under UN mandate, while other aspects of authority over the troops remain under the control of the State which is contributing its troops. This partial transfer of authority results in complex multilayered command structures which has given rise to certain legal and practical questions relating to the attribution of conduct in relation to allegations of possible violations of international law and the most appropriate remedies in such cases. This article provides an overview of the types of command structures most often used in both UN and UN mandated operations and explores the questions resulting from these in relation to attribution of conduct. It also discusses possible shortcomings in the provision of remedies and offers some suggestions as to how these might be addressed.