Document Type : Article

Authors

1 Associate Pro., Department of International Law, Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University, ‎Tehran, Iran‎

2 Ph.D. International Commercial and Investment Law, University of Study Faculty of Law, Shahid ‎Beheshti Universtiy, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Examining the position of the national security exception in WTO and international case law is very important since in recent years we have seen unprecedented references to the national security exception by countries for not fulfilling their obligations, and the continuation of this trend in the near future will definitely endanger the international legal system. In this regard, the most important questions are: the conditions for invoking national security exception, its legal effects, and finally, the mechanisms to deal with these challenges going forward. By examining the latest findings of the international judicial precedent, especially the "Russia Transit" WTO case and the "Certain Iranian Assets" ICJ case, it may be concluded that only when the actions taken are “necessary” and "proportionate" with the aim of maintaining national security and are adopted with "good faith", the invoking country is exempted from its obligations and responsibility. Establishing a balance between conflicting interests by the tribunal and accepting the reference to national security as long as it is compatible with the criteria of reasonableness are two mechanisms to tackle the challenges arsing from the invocation of security exception.

Keywords

Main Subjects

  1. English

    1. A) Books
    2. Cui, F, C Hoeffler & S C Hofmann (2021). National security and other non-trade objectives under WTO law. London: CEPR Press.
    3. Herdegen, M. (2016). Principles of International Economic Law. London: Oxford University Press.
    4. Kawashima, F. (2024). Trade Sanctions Against Russia and Their WTO Consistency: Focusing on Justification Under National Security Exceptions. Singapore: Springer.
    5. Singh, S. (2023). Future Unready: Does the WTO Need to Bolster Its Security Exceptions. Cham: Springer.
    6. Vranes, E. (2023). Introduction: The “Sleeping Dragon” of WTO Law. Cham: Springer.

     

    1. B) Articles
    2. Bismono, R., and others (2022). The Problems of interpreting GATT Articles XXI (b) (iii) in Russia - Traffic in Transit. Journal of International Trade Law and Policy. 21 (1), 65-78, https://doi.org/10.1108/JITLP-10-2021-0054.
    3. Emmanuel Kolawole Oke (2021). COVID-19, Pandemics, and the National Security Exception in the TRIPS Agreement. INTELL. PROP. INFO. TECH. & ELEC. COM. L. 12 (397), 396-407.
    4. Godsell, D., and others (2023). U.S. National Security and De-globalization. Journal of International Business Studies, 54 (8), 1471-1494. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-023-00621-2.
    5. Jaemin Lee (2021). A Blind Side of Security Exceptions?: New Legal Complexities of the "Refusal to Furnish Information" Clause. KOREAN L. 20 (1), 173-216. https://doi.org/10.23110/jkl.2021.20.1.006.
    6. Jia Wang (2021). Certain Iranian Assets: The Judgment on Preliminary Objections and the Terrorism Exception to State Immunity. 18 US-CHINA L. REV, 18 (4), 162-172. https:// doi.org/10.17265/1548-6605/2021.04.002.
    7. Kevin J. Fandl (2021). National Security Tariffs: A Threat to Effective Trade Policy. University of Pennsilvania Journal of Business Law 23, 340-389.
    8. Massimo Lando (2018). Plausibility in the Provisional Measures Jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice, Leiden Journal of International Law, 31(3), 641-668.
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    10. Ruys, T., Deweerdt, M. (2023). From Tehran to Moscow: The ICJ’s 2023 Certain Iranian Assets Judgment and Its Broader Ramifications for Unilateral Sanctions, Including Against Russia. Netherlands International Law Review, T.M.C Asser Press, 70, 273-299. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40802-023-00240-6.
    11. T., Ringaret, C. (2020), Secondary Sanctions: A Weapon Out of Control? The International Legality of, And European Responses to, US Secondary Sanctions. The British Yearbook of International Law, Oxford University Press, 0(0). 1-116.
    12. Samantha Franks (2021). Exploring Climate Security to Article XXI of the GATT. Washington University Global Studies Law Review. 20(2), 523-533.
    13. Scott PF. (2023). State threats’, security, and democracy: the National Security Act 2023. Legal Studies. 44(2), 260-276. https//. doi:10.1017/lst.2023.39.
    14. Voon, Tania. (2023). The Security Exception In WTO Law: Entering a New Era. American Journal of International Law Unbound. 113, 45-50. https://doi.org/10.1017.aju.2019.3.

     

    1. C) Decisions
    2. ‏Bank Markazi v. Peterson, United States Court of Apeals 2016.
    3. Belgium v. Senegal, ICJ Reports 2009
    4. Certain Iranian Assets (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America), ICJ Reports 2023.
    5. EC Banans III (Ecuador v. European Communities), WTO Reports 2012.
    6. Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America), ICJ Reports 1986.
    7. Oil Platforms (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States), ICJ Reports 2003.
    8. Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay (Argentina v. Uruguay), ICJ Reports 2006.
    9. United States- Certain Measures on Steel and Aluminium Products (China v. United States), WTO Reports 2022.
    10. US - Helms Burton (European Communities v. United States), WTO Reports 1998.
    11. Rosneft v. Her Majesty’s Treasury, European Court of Justice 2017.
    12. Russia – Measures Concerning Traffic in Transit (Ukraine v. Russia), WTO Reports 2019.
    13. Saudi Arabia – Measures Concerning the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (Qatar v. Saudi Arabia), WTO Reports 2020.

     

    References In Persian:

    1. A) Books
    2. Falsafi, H.A. (2014). Eternal Peace and the Rule of Law, the Dialectic of Similarities and Difference. Tehran: Farhang-e Nashr-e Nu. (in Persian)
    3. Wallace, R. & Martin Ortega, O. (2013). International Law. translated by Seyyed Ghasem Zamani & Mahnaz Bahramlou. Tehran: Shahr-e Danesh. (in Persian)

     

    1. B) Articles
    2. Kadkhodaee, A., & Jalili, S. R. (2022). Citing National Security Exceptions in the System of International Treaties. The Quarterly Journal of Public Law Research, 24(75), 45-78. DOI: 10.22054/QJPL.2021.58257.2553. (in Persian)
    3. Mousavi Zenuz, M., & Moradi, H. (2013). National Security Considerations in the World Trade Organization. Law Quarterly, the Journal of Faculty of Law and Political Studies, 2(43), 135-152. (In Persian)
    4. Noori, J., & Pirmoradi, A. (2021), Intrepretation of the Security Exception in the WTO in the Light of the Panel Report in Russia-Ukraine Dispute. Private Law Studies Quarterly, 51(4), 807-826. DOI: 10.22059/JLQ.2022.303294.1007384. (in Persian)