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30 Pub. Cont. L.J. 525 (2000-2001)
What if the United Nations Sued the United States: A Hypothetical Case Analyzing the UN Charter as a Government Contract

handle is hein.journals/pubclj30 and id is 535 raw text is: What if the United Nations Sued the United States?: A Hypothetical Case Analyzing the UN Charter as a Government Contract RITA Y. B. CARLSON I. Introduction 525 II. Background 526 III. The UN Treaty: An Enforceable Contract with the U.S. Government 531 IV. The UN's Claim Under the Tucker Act 533 A. The UN's Best Strategy 533 1. Procedural Argument 533 a. Jurisdictional Options for the UN 533 b. Possible Alternative to the Tucker Act 534 2. Substantive Argument-The United Nations Argues Breach of Contract 535 B. The United States' Defense 537 1. Lack of Jurisdiction 537 2. Self-Executing Treaty? 538 C. Remedy-Unlikely Congressional Halt on Money if Awarded by Courts 540 V. Conclusion 542 I. Introduction The domestic and international political battle created by the United States' refusal to pay to the United Nations (UN) over one billion dollars in unpaid membership dues raised loud public controversy.' This Note will ex- Rita Y. B. Carlson is a third-year law student at The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., and Senior Notes Editor of the Public Contract Law Journal. 1. This refusal lasted from 1997-1999. It was the longest-running refusal by the United States to pay arrears to the United Nations. See Joseph R. Biden Jr., Biden: House Should Release UN Arrears Hostage, (visited Jan. 15, 2000) at http:// foreign.senate.gov/-foreign/minority/prews/99/11/1999BO3C44.html [hereinafter Bi- den, House Should Release UN Arrears]; Joseph R. Biden Jr., Biden: U.S. Set to Pay Dues to United Nations (visited Jan. 15, 2000) at http://foreign.senate.gov/-foreign/ minority/press/00/12/1999C15B11.html [hereinafter Biden, U.S. Set to Pay Dues]. Conflicts within Congress over withheld UN dues have been a recurring controversy. President Reagan was praised in 1988 for healing a longstanding administration breach with the United Nations when he directed that $188 million in withheld dues be paid. See Lou Cannon, U.S. to Pay Dues, Debt to U.N.; White House Offers Olive Branch, Praise for Fiscal Reforms, WASH. POST, Sept. 14, 1988, at Al. C52 E5

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