CYIL vol. 11 (2020)

JAN ONDŘEJ – MAGDA UXOVÁ CYIL 11 (2020) the League of Nations, on the other hand, provided that only members of the League were guaranteed with the respect for their territorial integrity and political autonomy. The UN Charter also addresses problematic issues related to Article 16 of the Covenant of the League of Nations (see above). Firstly, the question of who made a binding finding of a violation of the Covenant, which was a matter for each individual state. Article 39 of the UN Charter explicitly states that the Security Council shall determine whether there has been a threat to the peace, a breach of the peace or an act of aggression. Furthermore, the Security Council shall recommend or decide what measures will be taken without the use of force or with the use of force. The decisions of the Security Council are of particular importance because they are legally binding for the states, including decisions on measures using armed force. In the case of the League of Nations, the Council of the League of Nations could only recommend that member states provided the military force. The effort to increase the capacity of the Security Council is also due to the fact that only permanent members have the right of the veto. In the Council of the League of Nations, all members, whether permanent or non- permanent, could exercise their right of veto. In addition to the issues of international peace and security, the UN has a number of other objectives, including addressing social issues and, in particular, promoting and strengthening respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. In this way, the UN significantly develops the efforts of the League of Nations, for example in the case of the protection of minorities. The UN continued the work of the League of Nations on non-self-governing territories (mandate territories) and in its efforts to achieve their independence. This goal has been achieved, there are currently no trust territories (mandated by the League of Nations) and almost all non-self-governing territories are now independent, independent states. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be stated that the League of Nations was an effort to create a system of collective security. In the period between the world wars, the effort to break the system of collective security and to replace it with bilateral agreements proved to be insufficient and a step backwards. The failure of the collective security system and the lack of effective sanction mechanisms could not prevent another global conflict. The UN Charter itself makes an obvious effort to avoid the mistakes of the League of Nations. However, the UN, like the League of Nations, is an organization based on cooperation between states, not a supranational organization. Important states, permanent members of the Security Council, play a crucial role. Despite the lack of interest and opposition of these states, the UN cannot achieve results in the issues where the interests of these states vary. In any case, dialogue between states is possible within international organizations, which may lead to the clarification of differing views and positions but will not solve serious international problems. As in the interwar period, even today we can see efforts to find solutions in bilateral agreements, which are not part of a certain mechanism (system), but rather undermine it. Dangerous tendencies can also be unilateral measures of various states, non-participation, or withdrawal of some states from international agreements important for the whole international community, etc.

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