This book addresses the authority of the Security Council to regulate the use of force. In particular it examines the question whether the present composition, functions and powers of the UN Security Council are adequate to meet recent demands such as the need perceived by states to use force in cases of humanitarian emergency and pre-emptive action in response to international terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Is the Security Council still well positioned today to deal with these demands and challenges? In seeking a response, the book analyses both the Charter law...

The proliferation of international organizations is presently a hot issue. New international organizations have been created over the last few years, such as the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the World Trade Organization. At the same time a certain reluctance may be observed to create new organizations. Overlapping activities and conflicting competences occur frequently and the need for coordination is evident. The events in former Yugoslavia are an example. Both during the armed conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo and afterwards in the era of reconstruction, the need to...