License to Presume: The Compatibility between the European Convention of Human Rights and Security Council Resolutions in Al-Dulimi and Montana Management Inc v. Switzerland

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2016 1(3), 1105-1115 | European Forum Insight of 22 December 2016 | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. The Judgment of the Grand Chamber. - III. The Presumption of Harmony between the UN Charter and the ECHR: Primacy Revisited. - III.1. Art. 103 of the UN Charter: Between Hierarchy and Conflict. - III.2. The European Court of Human Rights and the UN Charter. - III.3. The Presumption of Harmony in Al-Dulimi: Burying the Head in the Sand? - IV. Conclusion. | (Abstract) The judgment of the Grand Chamber in Al-Dulimi and Montana Management Inc. v. Switzerland can be praised as an effort to avoid contradictions between the UN Charter and the European Convention of Human Rights. It is also a reminder that UN Sanctions Committees still fail to meet fair trial standards. However, the reasoning of the Grand Chamber is not beyond controversy. In justifying the lack of contradiction between the SC Resolution 1483 (2003) and the ECHR, the Grand Chamber relies on a presumption of harmony between two legal orders (the UN Charter and the Convention) that is open to discussion. Moreover, the application made in casu of such presumption is unconvincing, since it does not appear to be supported by other elements of inter-pretation.