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156 THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE ARABIAN GULF STATES
anti-colonial group1—would suggest that so long as the Shaikhdoms,
or any other territories which are not fully independent of foreign
control, arc internationally represented by the United Kingdom, they
should remain subject to the obligations of Article 73 (e). Therefore,
it can be contended, if this latter construction of Chapter XI is
maintained, that by removing these Shaikhdoms from the scope of
Chapter XI, the United Kingdom has not only escaped responsibility
in respect of the affairs of these Shaikhdoms, which she still controls,
but also deprived the peoples of the Shaikhdoms from the right to
make their voice heard, on their own account, before an international
forum such as the United Nations.
COMPETENCE OF THE UNITED NATIONS TO SETTLE DISPUTES
ARISING BETWEEN THE GULF STATES AND
THE UNITED KINGDOM
The problem
Is the United Nations entitled to intervene in disputes between a
State Member of the United Nations and States or territories over
which it exercises rights of protection? Since the relations between a
protecting and a protected State are not equal to relations between two
independent States, the question of settlement of disputes between
them by the United Nations is, therefore, one of whether these dis­
putes are within the ‘domestic jurisdiction’ of the protecting State,
and of whether there is a threat to the peace. Article 2, paragraph 7,
of the Charter provides:
Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United
Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic
jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters
to settlement under the present Charter; but this principle shall not pre­
judice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter VII.
Chapter VII of the Charter, to which the above Article refers, deals
with ‘actions with respect to threats to the peace, breaches of the peace,
and acts of aggression’. Article 39 of this chapter explains the jurisdic­
tion of the United Nations in this matter as follows:
The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the
peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommenda­
tions, or decide what measures shall be taken in accordance with Articles
41 and 42, to maintain or restore international peace and security.
It can be deduced from the above provisions that if a dispute
between a protected and a protecting State can properly be described
1 For the views of this group, see NSGT\ year 1946 (1947), pp. 130-3. In the
same meeting the Indian representative expressed his surprise whether ‘a territory
not yet in full control of its external affairs could be said to enjoy full self-govern­
ment under the terms of Article 73’. See ibid.