Impact of the UN on International Law

The UN began its life with a membership of 50 nations. In the 1990s, because of the growth of newly independent nations, that number had reached 180. The aims and purposes of the organization encompass the maintenance of peace and security and the suppression of acts of aggression. The Charter also expressly includes among its objectives the maintenance of respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law. For that reason the Charter established the International Court of Justice as one of the most important UN organs and specifically charged the General Assembly with the progressive development and codification of international law. To carry out this task, the General Assembly has created two subsidiary organs: the International Law Commission and the Commission on International Trade Law. The International Law Commission, on assignment by the General Assembly, has prepared drafts of treaties codifying and modernizing a number of important subjects of international law, such as various aspects of the law of the sea (1958), diplomatic relations, consular relations, law of treaties between nations, succession of states in respect to treaties, law of treaties between nations and international organizations, and immunity of states from the jurisdiction of other states. Upon acceptance by the General Assembly, these drafts are submitted to international conferences convoked by the UN for the negotiation of the respective conventions.

In some instances, the UN has convoked conferences to negotiate treaties without prior proposal by the International Law Commission. The most important example was the third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea which terminated its work in 1982 with the draft of a convention for a comprehensive regime governing all aspects of the peaceful use of the oceans. Another example is the text of the convention governing the activities of nations on the moon and other celestial bodies, which was adopted by the General Assembly in 1979 and went into effect in 1984.

Since the UN Charter bans the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, the UN has refrained from addressing aspects of the law of war and neutrality. Nevertheless, the four Geneva conventions of 1949-the so-called Red Cross Conventions-formulated improved agreements relative to the amelioration of the condition of wounded and sick members of the armed forces in the field and at sea, the treatment of prisoners of war, and the protection of civilian persons in wartime, thereby instilling new life into the humanitarian principles of international law.

International law regulates intercourse among nations in peacetime and provides methods for the settlement of disputes by means other than war. Apart from procedures made available by the UN, these methods include direct negotiation between disputants under the established rules of diplomacy, the rendering of good offices by a disinterested third party, and recourse to the International Court of Justice. Other peacetime aspects of international law involve the treatment of foreigners and of foreign investments; the acquisition and loss of citizenship; and status of stateless persons; the extradition of fugitives; and the privileges and duties of diplomatic personnel.

Source: “International Law,”Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000. Stefan A. Riesenfeld, J.S.D., LL.B.
Professor of Law, Hasting College of the Law, San Francisco; Emmanuel A. Heller Professor Emeritus, School of Law, University of California, Berkeley; Hon. Editor, American Journal of International Law. David Carliner, LL.B.
Attorney-at-law. Author of The Rights of Aliens.

Impact of the UN on International Law

Impact of the UN on International Law

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