The Functional Threshold: Direct International Legal Regulation of Collective Nonstate Entities and the Law of International Peace and Security

Van der Ploeg, Klara Polackova

Abstract

This article explores transformations in international law with respect to collective nonstate entities, challenging the mainstream view that international law stipulates rights and obligations directly binding on such entities only on an exceptional basis. Through the example of the U.N. Charter’s regime for international peace and security, this article demonstrates the normative change within international law to directly address rights and obligations to collective nonstate entities, without the interposition of any state. The article argues that the normative inclusion of collective nonstate entities within binding international law may be conceptualized and explained as involving the operation of a “functional threshold.” Specifically, only the functionally critical collective nonstate entities, i.e., entities perceived as indispensable for the performance of the legal regime’s function, have acquired direct rights and obligations under international law.

Citation

Van der Ploeg, K. P. The Functional Threshold: Direct International Legal Regulation of Collective Nonstate Entities and the Law of International Peace and Security

• Working Paper Type: Working Paper
• Deposit Date: Jan 8, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 13, 2021
• Publisher: New York University, School of Law
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5205746
• Publisher URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3756371