SUSPENSION OF THE RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES OF UN MEMBER STATES: THE YUGOSLAV PRECEDENT

Abstract

Aim of the article: the article is devoted to the study of international legal mechanisms for the suspension of the rights and privileges of member states in the United Nations and the peculiarities of their application in the practice of this international organization. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the provisions of the UN Charter, in particular Articles 4, 5 and 6, which regulate the admission of new states to the Organization, the suspension of the rights and privileges of member states, as well as the possibility of their expulsion from membership. It is emphasized that the application of these provisions in practice is often accompanied by significant difficulties related to the political nature of the activities of the United Nations, as well as to the complexity of determining the international legal status of states during periods of profound political transformations. Methods: the study employs a dialectical approach to identify the patterns of evolution in the international legal status of states during their dissolution; a historical-legal approach to analyse the preconditions and stages of Yugoslavia’s dissolution; a comparative legal approach – to compare approaches to state succession under different international legal regimes; a formal legal approach – to interpret the provisions of international treaties, decisions of international organisations and judicial bodies; systemic-structural – to examine the interrelationship between political processes and the legal consequences of state succession; analytical method – to summarise doctrinal approaches and the practice of international bodies; forecasting method – to identify trends in the development of the institution of state succession. Results: the article establishes that in the case of Yugoslavia the organs of the United Nations effectively applied a specific mechanism for restricting a state's participation in the activities of the General Assembly, which is not directly provided for by the provisions of the UN Charter. It is emphasized that the Yugoslav precedent demonstrated the possibility of forming new approaches in the practice of international organizations regarding the restriction of states' participation in their activities, especially in situations related to the dissolution of states and the emergence of new subjects of international law. Discussion: it is concluded that the experience of considering the Yugoslav issue within the United Nations demonstrates the complexity of applying mechanisms for the suspension of the rights and privileges of member states and the need to develop more consistent approaches to the application of the relevant provisions of the UN Charter.