UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Amid row over air route, Iran Speaker to skip BRICS meet

Q1. With reference to sanctions in international relations, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Measures decided by the UN Security Council under Article 41 of the UN Charter are binding even on UN member states that do not sit on the Council.
  2. A firm in a third country may comply with another state's secondary sanctions mainly to keep access to that state's financial system and market, not because international law obliges it to.
  3. Sanctions imposed unilaterally by one state create obligations under international law that all other states must enforce.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q2. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. A sanctions decision taken by the UN Security Council under Chapter VII of the UN Charter binds UN member states that are not members of the Council.
  2. Under the UN Charter, all member states agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q3. With reference to UN Security Council Resolution 2664 (2022), consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It extended a humanitarian exemption to the unilateral sanctions imposed by individual UN member states.
  2. Even where its humanitarian carve-out applies, providers of aid are expected to make reasonable efforts to minimise any benefit reaching sanctioned individuals or entities.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. Both 1 and 2
  • D. Neither 1 nor 2

Q4. With reference to the financial institutions created by BRICS, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Contingent Reserve Arrangement is a framework for providing liquidity through currency swaps when a member faces short-term balance of payments pressure.
  2. The initial subscribed capital of the New Development Bank was divided among founding members in proportion to the size of their economies.
  3. The Contingent Reserve Arrangement was designed mainly to finance long-term infrastructure projects in member countries.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q5. Consider the following facts: Iran became a full member of BRICS in 2024. In 2026, while India was hosting BRICS meetings, India declined to let Iran's national airline fly a medicine consignment directly from India, citing the risk of U.S. sanctions to Indian airports and airlines. Iran appealed to India as a 'fellow BRICS member', and its parliamentary Speaker then withdrew from a BRICS Speakers' meeting in New Delhi. Which of the following inferences can validly be drawn from these facts?

  1. Membership of BRICS does not, by itself, lead a member to disregard third-country sanctions that could affect its own firms.
  2. BRICS has a binding collective dispute-settlement mechanism that Iran can invoke to compel India to permit the flights.
  3. Iran sees BRICS membership as carrying political expectations of solidarity that go beyond formal legal obligations.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q6. With reference to the legal framework of international civil aviation, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Under the Chicago Convention of 1944, every state has complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory.
  2. The International Civil Aviation Organization allocates scheduled international routes and traffic rights among its member states.
  3. Because no widely acceptable multilateral agreement on traffic rights emerged, such rights are mainly exchanged through bilateral air services agreements.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1 only

Q7. Countries X and Y, both parties to the Chicago Convention, have signed a bilateral air services agreement. X's national carrier wishes to fly a cargo of medicines from an airport in Y to X. Which one of the following best describes the legal position?

  • A. It needs clearance only from X's government, since the flight is operated by X's own carrier
  • B. It needs operating permission from Y's government, as Y retains sovereignty over its own airspace
  • C. It may operate as of right, since ICAO membership itself confers traffic rights on national carriers
  • D. It may operate without permission, since humanitarian cargo is exempt from air services agreements

Q8. India suggested that Iran take delivery of a medicine consignment through Armenia. Consider the following countries: Which of the above share a land border with Armenia?

  1. Iran
  2. Georgia
  3. Turkey
  4. Russia
  • A. 1, 2, 3 and 4
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • D. 2, 3 and 4 only