Charter of the United Nations

The Charte of the United Nations constitutes the equivalent for the the United Nations of a Constitution, and as such defines the goals, the principles of the United Nations as well as the composition, the goals and the capacities of its executive bodies (the Safety advice), deliberative (the General meeting), legal (the the International Court of Justice) and administrative (the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and the General secretary). It was adopted at the end of the Conférence of San Francisco, the June 26th 1945.

History

The Charter is the fruit of a long process, whose first steps are in the various international treaties, in particular as regards right of the war, maritime law and the signed borders and of international law at the end of the XIX° century and the beginning of the XX°, and whose matrix is the Société of the Nations created in 1919. It makes following several treaties and declarations, more or less formal, published between 1941 and 1944: The Conference of San Francisco, begun on April 25th, 1945, joins together 850 deputy (more approximately 2.500 advisers) of 50 States, divided into 4 commissions and 12 technical committees charged to prepare the text which would be discussed, at the end of the Conference, at the time of the plenary assemblies. The two principal texts at the base of this work are those of the conferences of Durnbarton Oaks and Yalta.

This work led to a text which was approved in plenary session on June 26th and was signed by 50 of the 51 United Nations, the last member, Poland, not having at this date of government made up which can ratify the text. This text was promulgated under the name of Charte of the United Nations. The final ratification took place on October 24th, 1945 (from now on issued Journée of the United Nations), which the official creation of the United Nations followed, on November 24th, 1945.

The Charter

Composition of the Charter

It comprises a preamble, 19 chapters and 111 articles, as well as a preliminary note on the later amendments. The chapters form six units:
  1. Les chapters I to III defines the goals and principles (Chap. I), the statute of the members and the admission requirements to the Organization (Chap. II), finally bodies of the Organization and admission requirements of their members;
  2. Les chapters IV, V, X, XIII, XIV and XV deals (in this order) with the five principal bodies: the General meeting, the Safety advice, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice and the Secretariat. Except for the two last, each one of these chapters is divided into four under-parts:
    • Composition
    • Fonctions and capacities
    • Vote
    • Procédure
  3. Les chapters VI to IX and XI to XII defines attributions specific to three of these bodies:
    • Chapitres VI to VIII: attributions of the Safety advice
    • Chapitre IX: attributions of the Economic and Social Council
    • Chapitres XI and XII: attributions of the Trusteeship Council
  4. Enfin, chapters XVI to XIX treat questions of general order (various Provisions, chap. XVI; Transitional provisions of safety, chap. XVII) or concerning the Charter even (Amendments, chap. XVIII; Ratification and signature, chap. XIX).

Bodies

They are defined in chapter III, article 7, subparagraph 1. There exist five principal bodies:
  • the General meeting, whose function is “to discuss all questions or businesses returning within the framework of this Charter or referring to the capacities and functions any of the bodies envisaged in the present Charter, to formulate on these questions or businesses of the recommendations to the Members of the United Nations, the Safety advice, or the Members of the Organization and the Safety advice” (Article 10);
  • the Safety advice, which has as a function first “the principal responsibility for the maintenance of peaces and safety international” (Article 24);
  • the Economic and Social Council “can make or cause studies and reports/ratios on international questions in the fields economic, social, of the intellectual culture and education, the public health and other fields related and can send recommendations on all these questions to the General meeting, to the Members of the Organization and the interested specialized institutions” (Article 62);
  • the Trusteeship Council “draws up a questionnaire bearing on progress of the inhabitants of each Trust Territory in the policy fields, economic and social and in that of the instruction; the authority in charge of the administration of each Trust Territory falling within the competence of the General meeting addresses to this one an annual report based on the above mentioned questionnaire” (Article 88) and has surveillance missions of the Trust Territories defined in article 88;
  • the the International Court of Justice “constitutes the principal legal body of the United Nations. It functions in accordance with a Statute established on the basis of Statute of the permanent Court of International justice” (Article 92);
  • the Secrétariat “acts as this quality with all the meetings of the General meeting, the Safety advice, the Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council. It fulfills all other functions with which it is charged by these bodies. It submits to the General meeting an annual report on the activity of the Organization” (Article 98) and “can draw the attention of the Safety advice to any business which, in his opinion, could endanger the maintenance of peaces and safety international” (Article 99).
Article 7, subparagraph 2, specify moreover:
“the subsidiary body which would appear necessary could be created in accordance with the present Charter” .

One can consult here the complete listing of the bodies of UNO which currently exist.

Apart from the points clarified in the Charter for the principal bodies, and in their order of mission for the subsidiary body, each body with the responsibility of define its operation and its rules of procedure.

References

  • History of the Charter
  • the Conference of San-Francisco, by Stephen Schlesinger.

External bond

  • the Charter of the United Nations, on the site of UNO

Map-bms: Piagam PBB Zh-yue: 聯合國憲章

Random links:Kulî | Persianas (Sheepshead) | World Cup Great champions male | Dœuil-on-the-nice | Percy Faith | Klemens Grossimlinghaus | Liste_de_monarques_danois