League of Arab States

League of Arab States and the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes

in dispute settlement
Based on the Handbook on Peaceful Settlement of Disputes between States (1992, United Nations):

Article 5 of the League Pact provides for an arbitral role for the Council of the League, which is composed of representatives of all member States. If a dispute between two contending members of the League does not involve the independence, sovereignty or territorial integrity of a State and those members apply to the League Council for the settlement of their dispute,
the decisions of the League Council shall be effective and obligatory. The exercise of the Council’s functions as an organ of arbitration is therefore subject to two conditions:

party submission, and
subject-matter limitations.

When the Council acts in its arbitral capacity, the States among which the dispute has arisen shall not participate in the deliberations and decisions of the Council. The League Pact also provides that the Council shall mediate, in a dispute which may lead to war between two member States or between a member State and another State, in order to conciliate them.

The exercise of these functions of good offices, mediation and conciliation does
not depend upon the submission of the dispute by the parties.

In practice, the Council has applied the modes of good offices, mediation and conciliation to all disputes, whether peace-threatening or not.

While in some cases it has done so directly, in other cases it has set up subsidiary bodies to carry out these functions.

Participation of its Secretary-General

It is also to be noted that while the Pact of the League does not expressly provide for the participation of its Secretary-General in the process of the peaceful settlement of disputes, the Council, through internal regulations, has developed an active role for the Secretary-General in this connection. Often the Council has included the Secretary-General of the League in the special bodies it has created for its mediation and fact-finding missions.

Resort to the League of Arab States for Peaceful Settlement of Disputes

An example of intervention of the League Council as an arbitration organ is a 1949 dispute between Syria and Lebanon concerning extradition matters. After the Council intervention, the parties agreed to submit their dispute to the Governments of Saudi Arabia and Egypt
for arbitration.

As to the Council’s functions of good offices, mediation and conciliation, the Council has considered that they also imply fact-finding activities and has appointed committees to that effect. Such was the case, for instance, in the 1958 Lebanon crisis, in which Lebanon complained to the League Council about acts of intervention of the United Arab Republic in the
internal affairs of Lebanon, as well as in the 1962 Yemen situation of internal civil strife and, similarly, in the 1963 boundary dispute between Algeria and Morocco and in the 1972 border dispute between the Democratic People’s Republic of Yemen and the Yemen Arab Republic.

Often the League Council has included the Secretary-General in the special bodies it has created for its mediation and fact-finding missions.

Examples of the latter are the 1948 and 1962 Yemen situations of internal civil strife and the 1963 boundary dispute between Algeria and Morocco. In some cases the Council has vested in the Secretary-General alone the functions of offering good offices, as in the 1961 situation involving the secession of Syria from the United Arab Republic.

As far as ad hoc mechanisms are concerned, it may be mentioned that, with regard to the recent Lebanese crisis, the Special Arab Summit of the League, held at Casablanca from 23 to 26 May 1989, decided to constitute a High Committee composed of the heads of State of
Algeria, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. The High Committee was entrusted with the mission of promoting the convening of a meeting of the members of the Lebanese Parliament in order to discuss the adoption of political reforms, to proceed to the election of the President of the Republic and to constitute a Government of national unity.

Guide to the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes

1. Introduction to the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes
2. Peaceful Resolution of Disputes Obligation, which comprises:
a. History of Peaceful Settlement of Disputes Obligation
b. Peaceful Settlement of Disputes Obligation Nature
c. Obligation of Peaceful Settlement Scope
d. Obligation of Peaceful Settlement Content
3. Means of Peaceful Settlement of Disputes between states, which comprises:
a. Variety of Means of Peaceful Settlement
b. Institutionalization of the Peaceful Means of Settlement
c. History of the Peaceful Means of Settlement
d. Peaceful Settlement of Disputes in International Organizations
4. Variety Use of Means of Peaceful Settlement
5. European Convention for the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes

References