Julio Cesar Obiang Sima Nzang (Northwest University of Political Science and Law) & Yingying Wang (Northwest University of Political Science and Law) have posted When Sovereignty Collides With Solidarity: Legal Boundaries Of Collective Action In Response To Russia’s Aggression Against Ukraine on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
The aggression of Russia towards Ukraine has put the strength of the international legal order that regulates the use of force and collective security. This effect of the stalemate in the United Nations Security Council has led states and regional organisations to take very radical unilateral and collective action, including economic sanctions and trade prohibition as well as military aid, in most cases purely on the pretext of necessary security interests and in solidarity with Ukraine. This research will explore the legality and restrictions of such solidarity actions under the international law. It discusses the issue of essential security exceptions being offered as enshrined in documents including Article XXI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), Article 222 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), and Articles 49-54 of the Articles on State Responsibility of the International Law Commission (ARSIWA) as a legitimate means of states acting contrary to conventional obligation in relation to aggression. The paper uses a doctrinal and comparative legal approach to examine the appropriate case law of the International Court of Justice and World Trade Organization to establish when solidarity-based action can still be consistent with the doctrine of sovereignty and non-intervention. It claims that, though reflecting a practical development of international law under pressure, these measures may destroy the collective structure of the Charter system unless they are subject to a definite procedure control. The paper ends with a constructive suggestion that sovereignty and solidarity can be resolved in a principled framework by increasing accountability and ensuring legal transparent protections.