Legal Issues Before the United Nations Sanctions Committee

This paper will seek to present certain legal issues which have arisen before the Security Council Committee Established in Pursuance of Resolution 253 (1968) Concerning the Question of Southern Rhodesia,1 hereinafter referred to as the "Sanctions Committee". 2 After outlining briefly the nature and scope of the obligation to implement sanctions, and describing the Sanctions Committee, we shall proceed to consider the following legal issues which have arisen before the Committee: (1) The Committee's competence to make determinations as to compliance with, or breach of, sanctions obligations; (2) The Committee's competence to make recommendations to the Security Council for strengthening sanctions; (3) The distinction between mandatory and non-mandatory obligations under resolution 253 (1968); (4) The responsibility of States regarding sanctions violations by their nationals who are abroad; (5) The position of neutral States and non-member States; (6) The question of who decides whether a case falls under one of the permitted exceptions; (7) The question of pre-sanctions contracts or licences and the plea of hardship.