The Establishment of British and French International Mandates in the Middle East: Originality of the System and Overtaking of the Traditional Colonial Model

Among the Mandates provided for by the League of Nations after the First World War, those conceived for the former South Eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire (Mesopotamia, Palestine, Transjordan, Syria and the Lebanon) seem to be particularly advanced. They were classified as “class A Mandates” and were viewed as a temporary solution, being the independence of the related territories a perspective clearly assigned and then concretely realised. In each specific situation to which the “class A Mandates” were applied, the position of the Mandatory took on some peculiar characteristics, corresponding to the historical conditions of each Country under Mandate. The international obligations taken on by those Mandatory States and the international supervision allocated to the League of Nations became later key criteria of the Trusteeship system provided for by Articles 75-91 of the Charter of the United Nations. In repeating most of the fundamental elements of the Mandates for Mesopotamia, Palestine, Transjordan, Syria and the Lebanon, and hastening consequently the independence of many Countries, the Trusteeship system has brought to a concept of “independence” no longer subordinated to the achievement of a certain degree of development but considered as a necessary prerequisite of civil progress.