Codification Division Publications: Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs Codification Division Publications: Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs

Last update: August 23, 2016

Charter of the United Nations

Chapter VIII — Regional arrangements

Article 53

1. The Security Council shall, where appropriate, utilize such regional arrangements or agencies for enforcement action under its authority. But no enforcement action shall be taken under regional arrangements or by regional agencies without the authorization of the Security Council, with the exception of measures against any enemy state, as defined in paragraph 2 of this Article, provided for pursuant to Article 107 or in regional arrangements directed against renewal of aggressive policy on the part of any such state, until such time as the Organization may, on request of the Governments concerned, be charged with the responsibility for preventing further aggression by such a state.

2. The term enemy state as used in paragraph 1 of the Article applies to any state which during the Second World War has been an enemy of any signatory of the present Charter.

Extracts PDF
Repertory of Practice (1945–1954), volume 2 View PDF file
  Supplement No 1 (1954–1955), volume 1 View PDF file
  Supplement No 2 (1955–1959), volume 2 View PDF file
  Supplement No 3 (1959–1966), volume 2 View PDF file
  Supplement No 4 (1966–1969), volume 1 View PDF file
  Supplement No 5 (1970–1978), volume 2 View PDF file
  Supplement No 6 (1979–1984), volume 3 View PDF file