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International law, also called public international law or law of nations, the body of
legal rules, norms, and standards that apply between sovereign states and other
entities that are legally recognized as international actors. The term was coined by
the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832).
International law provides normative guidelines as well as methods, mechanisms,
and a common conceptual language to international actors—i.e., primarily sovereign
states but also increasingly international organizations and some individuals.
The range of subjects and actors directly concerned with international law has
widened considerably, moving beyond the classical questions of war, peace,
and diplomacy to include human rights, economic and trade issues, space law, and
international organizations.
Although international law is a legal order and not an ethical one, it has been
influenced significantly by ethical principles and concerns, particularly in the sphere
of human rights and protection of environment.
International law is distinct from international comity, which comprises legally
nonbinding practices adopted by states for reasons of courtesy (e.g., the saluting of
the flags of foreign warships at sea).
In addition, the study of international law, or public international law, is
distinguished from the field of conflict of laws, or private international law, which
is concerned with the rules of municipal law—as international lawyers term the
domestic law of states—of different countries where foreign elements are involved.
International law is an independent system of law existing outside the legal orders of
particular states. It differs from domestic legal systems in a number of respects. For
example, although the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, which consists of
representatives of 193 countries, has the outward appearances of a legislature, it has
no power to issue binding laws. Rather, its resolutions serve only as
recommendations.
Though there are exceptions in specific cases and for certain purposes within the
UN system, such as determining the UN budget, admitting new members of the UN,
and, with the involvement of the Security Council, electing new judges to
the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Also, there is no system of courts with comprehensive jurisdiction in international
law. The ICJ‘s jurisdiction in contentious cases is founded upon the consent of the
particular states involved.
There is no international police force or comprehensive system of law enforcement,
and there also is no supreme executive authority. Therefore, Kelson defined
International Law as a primitive legal order.
The UN Security Council may authorize the use of force to compel states to comply
with its decisions, but only in specific and limited circumstances; essentially, there
must be a prior act of aggression or the threat of such an act. Moreover, any such
enforcement action can be vetoed by any of the council‘s five permanent members
(China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States). Because there
is no standing UN military, the forces involved must be assembled from member
states on an ad hoc basis.
International law is a distinctive part of the general structure of international
relations. In contemplating responses to a particular international situation, states
usually consider relevant international laws.
Although considerable attention is invariably focused on violations of international
law, states generally are careful to ensure that their actions conform to the rules and
principles of international law, because acting otherwise would be regarded
negatively by the international community.
The rules of international law are rarely enforced by military means or even by the
use of economic sanctions. Instead, the system is sustained by reciprocity or a sense
of enlightened self-interest.
States that breach international rules suffer a decline in credibility that
may prejudice them in future relations with other states. Furthermore, it is generally
realized that consistent rule violations would jeopardize the value that the system
brings to the community of states, international organizations, and other actors.
This value consists in the certainty, predictability, and sense of common purpose in
international affairs that derives from the existence of a set of rules accepted by all
international actors.
Opinio juris sive necessitatis (an opinion of law or necessity) in customary
international law is the belief that states are legally obliged to follow international
norms. States must act in compliance with the norm not merely out of convenience,
habit, coincidence, or political expediency, but rather out of a sense of legal
obligation.
International law also provides a framework and a set of procedures for international
interaction, as well as a common set of concepts for understanding it.
Rule of international law go much deeper into the history and are found in the rules
and usages which were observed during that time.
Just war (around 3000 BC)
The Mahābhārata offers one of the first instances of theorizing about dharmayuddha,
"just war", illustrating many of the standards to be followed in a war. In the story,
one of five brothers asks if the suffering caused by war can ever be justified. A long
discussion ensues between the siblings, establishing criteria like proportionality
(chariots cannot attack cavalry, only other chariots; no attacking people in distress),
just means (no poisoned or barbed arrows), just cause (no attacking out of rage), and
fair treatment of captives and the wounded.
The Gita is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between Pandava prince
Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Krishna. At the start of the Dharma Yudhha
(righteous war) between Pandavas and Kauravas, Arjuna is filled with moral
dilemma and despair about the violence and death the war will cause. He wonders if
he should renounce and seeks Krishna's counsel, whose answers and discourse
constitute the Bhagadvad Gita. Krishna counsels Arjuna to "fulfill his Kshatriya
(warrior) duty to uphold the Dharma" through "selfless action". The Krishna-Arjuna
dialogue cover a broad range of spiritual topics, touching upon ethical dilemmas and
philosophical issues that go far beyond the war Arjuna faces.
International law includes both the customary rules and usages to which states have
given express or tacit assent and the provisions of ratified treaties and conventions.
Among the earliest of these agreements were a treaty between the rulers
of Lagash and Umma (in the area of Mesopotamia) in approximately 2100 BCE and
an agreement between the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II and Hattusilis III, the king of
the Hittites, concluded in 1258 BCE. A number of pacts were subsequently
negotiated by various Middle Eastern empires.
The long and rich cultural traditions of ancient Israel, the Indian subcontinent, and
China were also vital in the development of international law.
In addition, basic notions of governance, of political relations, and of the interaction
of independent units provided by ancient Greek political philosophy and the
relations between the Greek city-states constituted important sources for the
evolution of the international legal system.
Greeks followed usages concerning inviolability of heralds in battles, the need for a
declaration of war and enslavement of prisoners of war. Greeks considered these
rules as religiously binding.
Many of the concepts of international legal order were established during
the Roman Empire. The jus gentium (Latin: ―law of nations‖), for example, was
invented by the Romans to govern the status of foreigners and the relations between
foreigners and Roman citizens. The Romans conceived of the jus gentium as having
universal application.
Romans had a special set of 20 priests, the so called fetiales, for management of
functions regarding their relations with foreign nations. Romans treated international
rules as legally binding.
In the Middle Ages, the concept of natural law, infused with religious principles
through the writings of the Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides (1135–1204) and
the theologian St. Thomas Aquinas (1224/25–1274), became
the intellectual foundation of the new discipline of the law of nations, regarded as
that part of natural law that applied to the relations between sovereign states.
After the collapse of the western Roman Empire in the 5th
century CE, Europe suffered from frequent warring for nearly 500 years. Eventually,
a group of nation-states emerged, and a number of supranational sets of rules were
developed to govern interstate relations, including canon law, the law
merchant (which governed trade), and various codes of maritime law.
In 15th century, there begin to evolve a number of independent civilized States that
led to formation of customary rules of international law from usages and practices
followed by such states in their mutual relations.
In the 16th century the concept of sovereignty provided a basis for the entrenchment
of power in the person of the king and was later transformed into a principle
of collective sovereignty as the divine right of kings gave way constitutionally to
parliamentary or representative forms of government.
In 1598 Italian jurist Alberico Gentili (1552–1608), considered the originator of
the secular school of thought in international law, published De jure belli libri
tres (1598; Three Books on the Law of War), which contained
a comprehensive discussion of the laws of war and treaties. Gentili‘s work initiated
a transformation of the law of nature from a theological concept to a concept of
secular philosophy founded on reason. The Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius (1583–1645)
excised theology from international law and organized it into a comprehensive
system, especially in De Jure Belli ac Pacis (1625; On the Law of War and
Peace). Grotius emphasized the freedom of the high seas, a notion that rapidly
gained acceptance among the northern European powers that were embarking upon
extensive missions of exploration and colonization around the world.
The scholars who followed Grotius can be grouped into two schools, the naturalists
and the positivists. The former camp included the German jurist Samuel von
Pufendorf (1632–94), who stressed the supremacy of the law of nature. In
contrast, positivist writers, such as Richard Zouche (1590–1661) in England
and Cornelis van Bynkershoek (1673–1743) in the Netherlands, emphasized the
actual practice of contemporary states over concepts derived from biblical sources,
Greek thought, or Roman law.
The positivist school made use of the new scientific method and was in that respect
consistent with the empiricist and inductive approach to philosophy that was then
gaining acceptance in Europe. Elements of both positivism and natural law appear in
the works of the German philosopher Christian Wolff (1679–1754) and the Swiss
jurist Emerich de Vattel (1714–67), both of whom attempted to develop an approach
that avoided the extremes of each school.
During the 18th century, the naturalist school was gradually eclipsed by the
positivist tradition, though, at the same time, the concept of natural rights which
played a prominent role in the American and French revolutions was becoming a
vital element in international politics. Positivism‘s influence peaked during the
expansionist and industrial 19th century, when the notion of state sovereignty was
buttressed by the ideas non intervention in the affairs of other states.
In the 20th century, however, positivism‘s dominance in international law was
undermined by the impact of two world wars, the resulting growth of international
organizations e.g., the League of Nations, founded in 1919, and the UN, founded in
1945 and the increasing importance of human rights.
The collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s
increased political cooperation between nations. Since the 1980s, globalization has
increased the number and sphere of influence of international and regional
organizations and required the expansion of international law to cover the rights and
obligations of these actors. Various environmental agreements and the Law of the
Sea treaty (1982) have been negotiated through this consensus-building process.
International law as a system is complex. Although in principle it is ―horizontal,‖ in
the sense of being founded upon the concept of the equality of states as one of the
basic principles of international law, but in reality some states continue to be more
important than others in creating and maintaining international law.
The Science of Modern International Law owes its birth to Hugo Grotius (therefore
known as Father of International Law), whose work, De Jure Belli ac Pacis (The
Law of War and Peace) appeared in 1625. His work lent legal basis to many areas of
international relations.
Grotius distinguished between jus gentium, the customary law of nations which he
called jus voluntarium (voluntary law) and jus naturale, concerning the
international relations of the State (natural law of nations).
Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) used the
words „International Law‟ for the first time
in 1780. Jeremy Bentham was a British
philosopher, jurist, social reformer and the
founder of modern utilitarianism. He
suggested that jurisprudence can be divided
in terms of "the political quality of the
persons whose conduct is the subject of the
law and or as members of different states; in
the first case, the law may be referred to the
head of internal, in the second case, to that
of international jurisprudence.
The older phrase law of nations, according to Bentham, refers to a certain discursive
space only through the force of custom, or convention. However, he believed that a
more appropriate designation should go beyond mere convention.
In the Principles of International Law, Jeremy Bentham argued that universal peace
could not be achieved without first achieving European Unity. He provided the most
important theoretical analysis of the legal foundation for achieving European Unity.
Hugo Grotius laid the foundations for international law, based on natural law. Two
of his books have had a lasting impact in the field of international law: De jure belli
ac pacis (On the Law of War and Peace) dedicated to Louis XIII of France and
the Mare Liberum (The Free Seas). Grotius has also contributed significantly to
the evolution of the notion of rights. Before him, rights were above all perceived as
attached to objects; after him, they are seen as belonging to persons, as the
expression of an ability to act or as a means of realizing something.
It is thought that Hugo Grotius was not the first to formulate the international
society doctrine, but he was one of the first to define expressly the idea of one
society of states, governed not by force or warfare but by actual laws and mutual
agreement to enforce those laws.
Grotius' concept of natural law had a strong impact on the philosophical and
theological debates and political developments of the 17th and 18th centuries. In
Grotius' understanding, nature was not an entity in itself, but God's creation.
Therefore, his concept of natural law had a theological foundation. Among those he
influenced were Samuel Pufendorf and John Locke, and by way of these
philosophers his thinking became part of the cultural background of the Glorious
Revolution in England and the American Revolution.
Hugo Grotius whose masterpiece De jure belli ac pacis libri
tres (On the Law of War and Peace: Three books), considered
one of the greatest contributions to the development
of international law was first published in 1625, dedicated to
Grotius' current patron, Louis XIII. The treatise advances a
system of principles of natural law, which are held to be
binding on all people and nations regardless of local custom.
The work is divided into three books:
•Book I advances his conception of war and of natural justice, arguing that there are
some circumstances in which war is justifiable.
•Book II identifies three 'just causes' for war: self-defense, reparation of injury,
and punishment;
•Book III takes up the question of what rules govern the conduct of war once it has
begun; influentially, Grotius argued that all parties to war are bound by such rules.
In The Free Sea (Mare Liberum, published 1609) Grotius formulated the new
principle that the sea was international territory and all nations were free to use it for
seafaring trade. .England, competing fiercely with the Dutch for domination of
world trade, opposed this idea and claimed in John Selden's Mare clausum (The
Closed Sea).
Naturalistic Theory: Jurists of 16th and 17th century were of the view that
International Law is based on law of nature, which emanates from Universal reason
or morals. Prominent writers of this view are Grotius, Samueal Pufendorf, John
Locke, Hobbes, Blackstone & H.L.A. Hart.
Positive Theory: According to them only those principles may be deemed as law
which have been adopted with the consent of the States. Cornelius van
Bynkershoek was the exponent who was of the view that the basis of International
Law is the consent of the States. Friedrich von Martens and Anzilotti shared the
view that unless and until a State has given its consent to a particular rule of
International Law, it cannot be regarded as binding on it. Other exponents are
Rachel, Textor, Johan Jacob Moser and Kelson.
Eclectic Theory: The jurists belonging to this school have preferred to adopt a
middle course. Grotius and Vattel shared this view. The central doctrine in Grotius
work was acceptance of the law of nature based on dictates of reason as an
independent source of rules of law of nations, apart from customs and treaties.
Whether international law is Law or Morality
Austin points out that there is no sovereign political authority having leglative
powers as in his time the rules of international law were almost exclusively
customary and is therefore is only a positive morality.
Bentham, Holland, Hobbes and Pufendorf also questioned true nature of
International Law and considered it as quasi-law.
Kelson, Starke, Oppenheim considered International Law as law.
Oppenheim‟s definition: ―Law of Nations or international law is the name for
body of customary and conventional rules which are considered legally binding by
civilised states in their intercourse with each other‖
Starke‟s definition: ―International law may be defined as that body of law which is
composed for its greater part of the principles and rules of conduct which States
feel themselves bound to observe, and therefore, do commonly observe in their
relations with each other, and which includes also:
a) the rules of law relating to the functioning of international institutions /
organisations, their relations with each other, and their relations with States and
individuals; and
b) Certain rules of law relating to individuals and not-state entities so far as the
rights or duties of such individuals and non-state are the concern of the
international community.‖
Charles G. Fenwick: ― Body of general principles and specific rules which are
binding upon the members of international community in their mutual relations.‖
States, International organisations and individuals, all are subjects of International
Law
Statute of International Court of Justice (Article 38) recognises following sources
of International Law
a. international conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules
expressly recognized by the contesting states;
b. international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law; (opino
juris sive necessitatis-a psychological feeling on part of the States that they are
legally obliged to follow international law). Pacta Sunt Servanda- treaties must be
obliged is also a customary rule of international law.
c. the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations;
d. judicial decisions (not binding) and the teachings of the most highly qualified
publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination of rules
of law.
Modern Sources
General Assembly resolutions, even if they are not binding, may sometimes have
normative value as opino juris.
Security Council Resolutions are binding on the Members by virtue of Art 25 of
UN.
History of Codification
An unsuccessful attempt was made by the French Convention to draw up a
Declaration of the Rights of Nations in 1792.
The attempts to codify International Law had been underway since the late
nineteenth century at different levels. The first idea of Codification of International
Law was conceived by the British philosopher, jurist and social reformer Jeremy
Bentham at the end of the 18th century.
The Declaration of Paris, 1852 was signed by countries such as Britain, France,
Austria, Russia, Turkey, Prussia, and Sardinia after the end of the Cremean War in
1856 and marked as the first step in the history. The declaration laid down the
principles relating to Abolition of privateering, Non- capture of neutral goods except
illegal imports of war, under enemy flags, Non capture of enemy goods under
neutral flag except smuggled goods of war.
The development of International Law has been mainly effected through usages,
practices, and writings of jurists such as Zouche, Pufendorf, Bynkershoek, Wolff,
Moser, Vattel and Von Maryens even after Grotius, and continued into the nineteenth
century. International Law is not static and it is constantly developing and
restructured in the very process of its application to new situations.
 History of Codification
Following these early private attempts at codification we have the formation of two
great associations for the study and advancement of the science of international law.
In 1873 the Institute of International Law was founded at Ghent in Belgium, and
in the same year the Association for the Reform and Codification of the Law of
Nations, now called the International Law Association, was also founded
Further, following this mandate of Article 13, the General Assembly established the
International Law Commission (ILC) in 1947. This ILC first met on April 11th ,
1949. Owing to the enormity of the contribution of ILC towards the codification and
progressive development of international law, it is advisable to discuss its
contribution separately.
 History of Codification
The establishment of the International Law Commission (ILC) brought out a turning
point in the ‗Codification Movement‘, i.e., the movement for the systematic
presentation of International Law in the form of written rules representing a
restatement of existing rules of International Customary Law or the formulation of
new ones.
In respect to the Codification of International Law, the commission decided to give
priority to broadly the three concepts:
Law of Treaties Arbitral Procedure Law relating to High Seas
It also follows a set procedure for the adoption of international rules through
multilateral treaties or conventions, irrespective whether it is codification or
progressive development.
It first prepares a set of draft articles on the basis of reports prepared by its member
appointed as special rapporteur. The draft is then sent to the States for their
comments.
After receiving the comments, the final draft on the subject is prepared and sent to
the General Assembly, which then decides to convene on international conference
for the adoption of a convention, based on the draft.
 History of Codification
The establishment of the International Law Commission (ILC) brought out a turning
The Commission is composed of 34 members elected by the General Assembly,
having the competence in International Law, and representing the main forms of
civilisation and the principal legal systems of the world.
The ILC‘s membership was raised from 25 to 34 in 1981. The membership is
distributed as follows: Africa- 8, Latin America- 6, Asia- 7, Eastern Europe 3,
Western Europe and other States- 8, 1 national by rotation from Africa or Eastern
European States, and 1 national by rotation from Asian or Latin American States.
The International Law Commission has conducted a total of 71 seventy-one sessions
as of 2019. In accordance with the General Assembly Resolution 74/186 of
December 18, 2019, the ILC is scheduled to hold its seventy- second session at the
United Nations office at Geneva, Switzerland from April 27 to June 5 and from July
6 to August 7, 2020.
However, taking into consideration the Global Pandemic relating to Covid-19, the
situation as to the conduct of the seventy- second session still remains uncertain and
precarious.
1865:States first established international organizations to cooperate on specific
matters. The International Telecommunication Union was founded in 1865 as the
International Telegraph Union.
1919: The forerunner of the United Nations was the League of Nations, an
organization conceived in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles "to promote
international cooperation and to achieve peace and security."
1 January 1942 - The name "United Nations" is coined
by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt was first used in the Declaration
by United Nation of 1 January 1942, during the Second World War.
24 October 1945 - The United Nations officially comes into existence
In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco to draw up the United
Nations Charter.
The Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 by the representatives of the 50 countries.
Poland, which was not represented at the Conference, signed it later and became
one of the original 51 Member States. The United Nations officially came into
existence on 24 October 1945, when the Charter had been ratified by China,
France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States etc.
António Guterres, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations, took office
on 1st January 2017.
Prior to his appointment as Secretary-General, Mr. Guterres served as United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015
Before joining UNHCR, Mr. Guterres spent more than 20 years in government and
public service. He served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, during
which time he was heavily involved in the international effort to resolve the crisis
in East Timor.
The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly, on the
recommendation of the Security Council. The Secretary-General's selection is
therefore subject to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Security
Council.
2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.
Holy See and State of Palestine are two Non-member States having received a
standing invitation to participate as observers in the sessions and the work of the
General Assembly and maintaining permanent observer missions at Headquarters.
CHAPTER I – PURPOSES AND PRINICPLES
Article 1 provides that the Purposes of the United Nations are:
1) To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take
effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the
peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the
peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the
principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of
international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace;
2) To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the
principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other
appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace;
3) To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of
an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting
and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms
for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and
4) To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of
these common ends.
CHAPTER I – PURPOSES AND PRINICPLES
Article 2: The Organization and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated in
Article 1, shall act in accordance with the following Principles.
1.The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its
Members.
2.All Members, in order to ensure to all of them the rights and benefits resulting
from membership, shall fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed by them in
accordance with the present Charter.
3.All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a
manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
4.All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of
force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any
other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.
5.All Members shall give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes
in accordance with the present Charter, and shall refrain from giving assistance to
any state against which the United Nations is taking preventive or enforcement
action.
CHAPTER I – PURPOSES AND PRINICPLES
6. The Organization shall ensure that states which are not Members of the United
Nations act in accordance with these Principles so far as may be necessary for the
maintenance of international peace and security.
7. Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to
intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any
state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the
present Charter; but this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement
measures under Chapter Vll.
CHAPTER II - MEMBERSHIP
Article 3 -The original Members of the United Nations shall be the states which,
having participated in the United Nations Conference on International Organization
at San Francisco, or having previously signed the Declaration by United Nations of
1 January 1942, sign the present Charter and ratify it in accordance with Article
110.
Article 4
1.Membership in the United Nations is open to all other peace-loving states which
accept the obligations contained in the present Charter and, in the judgment of the
Organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations.
2.The admission of any such state to membership in the United Nations will be
effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the
Security Council.
Article 5 -A Member of the United Nations against which preventive or
enforcement action has been taken by the Security Council may be suspended from
the exercise of the rights and privileges of membership by the General Assembly
upon the recommendation of the Security Council. The exercise of these rights and
privileges may be restored by the Security Council.
Article 6
A Member of the United Nations which has persistently violated the Principles
contained in the present Charter may be expelled from the Organization by the
General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.

CHAPTER III - ORGANS

Article 7
1.There are established as principal organs of the United Nations: a General
Assembly, a Security Council, an Economic and Social Council, a Trusteeship
Council, an International Court of Justice and a Secretariat.
2.Such subsidiary organs as may be found necessary may be established in
accordance with the present Charter.
Article 8
The United Nations shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women
to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and
subsidiary organs.
 CHAPTER IV - GENERAL ASSEMBLY
COMPOSITION
Article 9
1.The General Assembly shall consist of all the Members of the United Nations.
2.Each Member shall have not more than five representatives in the General
Assembly.
FUNCTIONS and POWERS
Article 13
1.The General Assembly shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the
purpose of:
a)promoting international co-operation in the political field and encouraging the
progressive development of international law and its codification;
b)promoting international co-operation in the economic, social, cultural,
educational, and health fields, and assisting in the realization of human rights and
fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or
religion.
 CHAPTER IV - GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Article 15
1.The General Assembly shall receive and consider annual and special reports from
the Security Council;
2.The General Assembly shall receive and consider reports from the other organs of
the United Nations.
Article 17
1.The General Assembly shall consider and approve the budget of the Organization.
2.The expenses of the Organization shall be borne by the Members as apportioned
by the General Assembly.
3.The General Assembly shall consider and approve any financial and budgetary
arrangements with specialized agencies referred to in Article 57 and shall examine
the administrative budgets of such specialized agencies with a view to making
recommendations to the agencies concerned.
 CHAPTER IV - GENERAL ASSEMBLY
VOTING
Article 18
1.Each member of the General Assembly shall have one vote.
2.Decisions of the General Assembly on important questions shall be made by a
two-thirds majority of the members present and voting. These questions shall
include: recommendations with respect to the maintenance of international peace
and security, the election of the non-permanent members of the Security Council,
the election of the members of the Economic and Social Council, the election of
members of the Trusteeship Council in accordance with paragraph 1 (c) of Article
86, the admission of new Members to the United Nations, the suspension of the
rights and privileges of membership, the expulsion of Members, questions relating
to the operation of the trusteeship system, and budgetary questions.
3.Decisions on other questions, including the determination of additional categories
of questions to be decided by a two-thirds majority, shall be made by a majority of
the members present and voting.
 CHAPTER IV - GENERAL ASSEMBLY
PROCEDURE
Article 20
The General Assembly shall meet in regular annual sessions and in such special
sessions as occasion may require. Special sessions shall be convoked by the
Secretary-General at the request of the Security Council or of a majority of the
Members of the United Nations.
Article 21
The General Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure. It shall elect its
President for each session.
Article 22
The General Assembly may establish such subsidiary organs as it deems necessary
for the performance of its functions.
In accordance with the United Nations Charter, the Security Council has primary
responsibility for:
 the maintenance of peace and international security;
 investigation of any dispute, or any situation that might lead to international
friction or give rise to a dispute, in order to determine whether the continuance
of the dispute or situation is likely to endanger the maintenance of international
peace and security.
By joining the United Nations, all Member States agree to accept and carry out
decisions of the Security Council.
The Security Council has the authority to:
 put human rights mandates into peace-keeping operations or to mandate
separate human rights operations;
 consider gross human rights violations that are threats to peace and security
under article 39 of the Charter and recommend enforcement measures;
 establish international criminal tribunals.
Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter sets out the UN Security Council's
powers to maintain peace. It allows the Council to "determine the existence of any
threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression" and to take military
and nonmilitary action to "restore international peace and security".
Chapter VII: Action with respect to threats to the peace, breaches of the peace,
and acts of aggression
Article 39
The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace,
breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or
decide what measures shall be taken in accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to
maintain or restore international peace and security.
Article 40
SC may call upon the parties concerned to comply with such provisional measures
as it deems necessary or desirable.
Article 41
The Security Council may decide use of un-armed force. These may include
complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal,
telegraphic, radio, communication etc., and the severance of diplomatic relations.
Article 42
Should unarmed measures in Article 41 are found to be inadequate it may take such
action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore
international peace and security.
Article 43
All Members of the United Nations, in order to contribute to the maintenance of
international peace and security, undertake to make available in accordance with a
special agreement or agreements, armed forces, assistance, and facilities.
Article 51
Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or
collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United
Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain
international peace and security.
 S. S. Lotus - (France v. Turkey) PCIJ (1927)
French Steamer ‗Lotus‘ hit Turkish Collier that was cut into pieces, sank and 8
Turkish Nationals perished. When Lotus arrived in Turkish water, criminal
proceeding against French officers. French govt. contended before PCIJ that there
was customary rule of Int. law granting exclusive jurisdiction to State the flag of
which vessel is flying.
The court pointed out that state laws were not consistent, decision of state courts
conflicted, no uniform trend could be deduced from treaties and publicists were
divided in their views. Court explained abstention of State was not because they
recognised themselves as being obliged to do so.
Regional Custom – Asylum case (Columbia v. Peru) ICJ Reports
1950, p. 266
In 1949, a Peruvian Political Leader was given asylum in Columbian embassy in
Lima, Peru. The Columbia ambassador requested Peru to allow asylum seeker to
leave country on ground that Columbia Govt. gave him political refuge. The
dispute was referred to ICJ. Columbian Govt. invoked American international law
and based its claim on certain international agreement among Latin American
States. Peru had refrained from ratifying the Montevideo convention in 1933 and
1936, which allowed diplomatic asylum.
ICJ observed that Columbian Govt. must prove that the rule invoked by it in
accordance with constant and uniform usage practiced by State in question and
must prove that this custom is established in such a manner that it has become
binding on other party. But Columbian Govt failed to establish the custom.

Right of Passage Over Indian Territory Case (Portugal v. India)

ICJ 1960
Portugal alleged that India was unlawfully obstructing right of passage through the
Indian Pennisula which was granted to it through treaty of Pune concluded in 1779
between Portugal and Maratha ruler. British recognized sovereignty of Portugal
over the enclaves. Thus Portugal had in 1954, a right of passage over Indian
territory and ICJ also accepted the same. But the sovereignty of Portugal was in
respect of private persons, civil officials and goods in general, to extent necessary
for exercise of its sovereignty over Portugese enclaves and subject to regulation and
control of India.
It was held that India had lawfully, in exercise of power of regulation and control of
Portugese rights, suspended all passage in 1954, because of tension created by the
overthrow of Portugese authority in that Enclave.
Advisory Opinion of ICJ on the Legality of the Threat or Use of
Nuclear Weapons 1996
Issue was whether prohibition of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons is rule of
international customary law.
ICJ held that General Assembly resolutions, even if they have no binding character,
may sometimes have normative value. A series of resolution may show gradual
evolution of opino juris required for establishment of new rule.
Court held that General Assembly resolution on illegality of nuclear weapons fell
short of establishing the existence of Opino Juris.
Prescription ( a claim to a right founded upon enjoyment)
Principle of prescription recognized by municipal law in the claims on title to
property is applicable in international legal disputes on title to territory.
Island of Palmas Case (Netherlands v. United States) (1928)
Permanent Court of Arbitration, 2 R.I.A.A. 829A
Two natives States of Island of Sangi in Philippines were from 1677 onwards
connected with the East Indian Company, and thereby with the Netherlands, by
contracts of suzerainty (partial control), which conferred upon the suzerain such
powers as would justify his considering the vassal (subordinate) State as a part of
his territory.
The Island of Palmas (or Miangas), included in archipelago know as Philippines
Island which has formed since 1700, successively a part of two of the native States
of the Island of Sangi (Talautse Isles)
State authority exercised either by the Netherlands as suzerain power or Island of
Palmas (or Miangas) have been established as occurring at different epochs
between 1700 and 1898, as well as in the period between 1898 and 1906.
The peaceful character of the display of Netherlands sovereignty for the entire
period to which the evidence concerning acts of display relates to period (1700-
1906).
Through a treaty of peace (also called Treaty of Paris) between United States and
Spain, dated December 10th, 1898 wherein Spain ceded the Philippines to the
United States.
The origin of dispute arose on Jan 21st, 1906 when General Wood of USA visited
the Island and claimed its title in the first place of discovery. The United States
Government finally maintains that Palmas (or Miangas) forms a geographical part
of the Philippine group and in virtue of the principle of contiguity (state of
bordering or proximity) belongs to the Power having the sovereignty over the
Philippines.
Title of sovereignty in present day international law are either based on an act of
occupation, conquest or cession. Territorial sovereignty involves exclusive right to
display activities of a State. Continuous and peaceful display of the functions of
State within a given region is a constituent element of territorial sovereignty.
 PRESCRIPTION
Island of Palmas Case (Netherlands v. United States) (1928)
Permanent Court of Arbitration, 2 R.I.A.A. 829A
The title of contiguity as a basis of territorial sovereignty, has no foundation in
international law.
State within a given region is a constituent element of territorial sovereignty.
Finally the acquiescence of Spain in the situation created after 1677 would deprive
her and her successors of the possibility of still invoking conventional rights at the
same time.
The Netherlands title of sovereignty, acquired by continuous and peaceful display
of State authority during a long period of time going probably back beyond the year
1700 therefore holds good.
 GENERAL PRINCIPLES
(Application of the principle of res judicata)
Effect of awards of compensation made by the United Nations
Administrative Tribunal advisory opinion of I.C.J. (July 13,
1954) 1954 International Law Reports 310
Facts: Contract of service of sone of staff members of the United Nations had been
terminated without their assent by Secretary-General. They approached the
Administrative Tribunal of the United Nations which passed award of
compensation in favour of a staff member of the United Nations.
Advisory opinion: "Having regard to the Statute of the United Nations
Administrative Tribunal and to any other relevant instruments and to the relevant
records, has the General Assembly the right on any grounds to refuse to give effect
to an award of compensation made by that Tribunal in favour of a staff member of
the United Nations whose contract of service has been terminated without his
assent?"
 (Application of the principle of res judicata)
Effect of awards of compensation made by the united nations
administrative tribunal advisory opinion of I.C.J. (July 13, 1954)
Statue of UN Tribunal: The provisions of the Statute of the Tribunal as adopted by
the General Assembly on November 24th, 1949, and on the Staff Regulations and
Rules as in force on December 9th, 1953 are as under.
Article 1 of the Statute provides: "A Tribunal is established by the present Statute to
be known as the United Nations Administrative Tribunal." This Tribunal shall,
according to Article 2, paragraph 1, "be competent to hear and pass judgment upon
applications―.
Article 9 paragraph 1) prescribe that if the application is well founded, order the
rescinding of the decision contested or the specific performance of the obligation
invoked. Article 10 contains the following provisions "2. The judgments shall be
final and without appeal."
Whether UN Tribunal has a judicial character?
This examination of the relevant provisions of the Statute shows that the Tribunal is
established, not as an advisory organ or a mere subordinate committee of the
General Assembly, but as an independent and truly judicial body pronouncing final
judgments without appeal within the limited field of its functions.
 (Application of the principle of res judicata)
Effect of awards of compensation made by the united nations
administrative tribunal advisory opinion of I.C.J. (July 13, 1954)
Whether principle of res judicata apply on judgement passed by UN Tribunal?
According to a well-established and generally recognized principle of law, a
judgment rendered by such a judicial body is res judicata and has binding force
between the parties to the dispute. A contract of service is concluded between the
staff member concerned and the Secretary-General in his capacity as the chief
administrative officer of the United Nations Organization, acting on behalf of that
Organization which is a juridical person as its representative.
If he terminates the contract of service without the assent of the staff member and
this action results in a dispute which is referred to the Administrative Tribunal, the
parties to this dispute before the Tribunal are the staff member concerned and the
United Nations Organization, represented by the Secretary-General, and these
parties will become bound by the judgment of the Tribunal, as no appeal lies to this
judgement.
As this final judgment has binding force on the United Nations Organization as the
juridical person, it follows that the General Assembly, as an organ of the United
Nations, must likewise be bound by the judgment.
 (Application of the principle of res judicata)
Effect of awards of compensation made by the united nations
administrative tribunal advisory opinion of I.C.J. (July 13, 1954)
Whether General Assembly is competent to establish a tribunal to render
judgments binding on the United Nations?
Under the provisions of Chapter XV of the Charter, the Secretariat, which is one of
the principle organs of the United Nations, comprises the Secretary-General and the
staff. He is appointed by the General Assembly, upon the recommendation of the
Security Council. He is ‗the chief administrative officer of the Organization‘. The
staff member are appointed by him under regulations established by the GA.
Article 101(3) of the Charter provides, ‗The paramount consideration in the
employment of the staff and in the determination of the conditions of service shall
be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and
integrity.
In these circumstances, the power to establish a tribunal, to do justice as between
the Organization and the staff members, was essential to ensure the efficient
working of the Secretariat, and to give effect to the paramount consideration of
securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity. Capacity to
do this arises by necessary intendment out of the Charter.
 (Application of the principle of res judicata)
Effect of awards of compensation made by the united nations
administrative tribunal advisory opinion of I.C.J. (July 13, 1954)
Whether implied power enable the General Assembly to establish a tribunal
with authority to make decisions binding on the General Assembly itself?
There can be no doubt that the General Assembly in the exercise of its power could
have set up a tribunal without giving finality to its judgments. In fact, however, it
decided, after long deliberation, to invest the Tribunal with power to render
judgments which would be ‗final and without appeal‘, and which would be binding
on the United Nations. The precise nature and scope of the measures by which the
power of creating a tribunal was to be exercised, was a matter for determination by
the General Assembly alone.
Whether an implied power to impose legal limitations upon the General
Assembly‟s express Charter powers is legally admissible?
Article 17(1) of the Charter, which reads: ‗The General Assembly shall consider
and approve the budget of the Organization.‘ But the function of approving the
budget does not mean that the General Assembly has an absolute power to approve
or disapprove the expenditure proposed to it; for some part of that expenditure
arises out of obligations already incurred by the Organization, and to this extent the
General Assembly has no alternative but to honour these engagements.
 (Application of the principle of res judicata)
Effect of awards of compensation made by the united nations
administrative tribunal advisory opinion of I.C.J. (July 13, 1954)
Whether implied power of the General Assembly to establish a tribunal can be
carried so far as to enable the tribunal to intervene in matters falling within
the province of the Secretary-General?
The General Assembly could at all times limit or control the powers of the
Secretary General in staff matters, by virtue of the provisions of Article 101.
Acting under powers conferred by the Charter, the General Assembly authorized
the intervention of the Tribunal to the extent that such intervention might result
from the exercise of jurisdiction conferred upon the Tribunal by its Statute.
Accordingly, when the Tribunal decides that particular action by the Secretary-
General involves a breach of the contract of service, it is in no sense intervening in
a Charter power of the Secretary-General, because the Secretary-General‘s legal
powers in staff matters have already been limited in this respect by the General
Assembly.
 (Application of the principle of res judicata)
Effect of awards of compensation made by the united nations
administrative tribunal advisory opinion of I.C.J. (July 13, 1954)
Whether Administrative Tribunal is a subsidiary, subordinate, or secondary
organ; and accordingly, the Tribunal‟s judgments cannot bind the General
Assembly which established it?
The Charter does not confer judicial functions on the General Assembly and the
relations between staff and Organization come within the scope of Chapter XV of
the Charter. In the absence of the establishment of an Administrative Tribunal, the
function of resolving disputes between staff and Organization could be discharged
by the Secretary-General by virtue of the provisions of Articles 97 and 101.
By establishing the Administrative Tribunal the General Assembly was not
delegating the performance of its own functions; it was exercising a power which it
had under the Charter to regulate staff relations.
Whether General Assembly is inherently capable of creating a subordinate
body competent to make decisions binding on itself?
It is common practice in national legislatures to create courts with the capacity to
render decisions legally binding on the legislatures which brought them into being.
 GENERAL PRINCIPLES
(Principle of Acquiescence and Estoppel)
Temple of Preah Vihear case (merits)
Cambodia v. Thailand (ICJ Reports 1962, p. 6)
Facts: Until Cambodia attained her independence in 1953 she was part of French
Indo-China, and her foreign relations were conducted by France as the protecting
Power.
On 13 February 1904, a treaty was entered between France, then conducting the
foreign relations of Indo-China, and Siam (as Thailand was then called) for
boundary settlement. That Treaty established the general character of the frontier
the exact boundary of which was to be delimited by a Franco-Siamese Mixed
Commission.
In the eastern sector of the Dangrek range, in which Preah Vihear was situated, the
frontier was to follow the watershed line. Frontier had been surveyed, fixed and
concluded by a further Franco-Siamese boundary treaty of 23 March 1907. Finally,
the Siamese Government, which did not dispose of adequate technical means, had
requested that French officers should map the frontier region. These maps were
communicated to the Siamese Government in 1908. Amongst them was a map of
the Dangrek range showing Preah Vihear on the Cambodian side.
Principle of Acquiescence and Estoppel)
Temple of Preah Vihear case (merits)
 (Principle of Acquiescence and Estoppel)
Temple of Preah Vihear case
The Temple of Preah Vihear is an ancient sanctuary and shrine situated on the
borders of Thailand and Cambodia. Although now partially in ruins, this Temple
has considerable artistic and archaeological interest, and is still used as a place of
pilgrimage.
A dispute concerning the Temple of Preah Vihear, between Cambodia and Thailand,
were instituted on 6 October 1959 by an Application of the Government of
Cambodia.
Cambodia had principally relied in support of her claim to sovereignty over the
Temple based on the map.
Thailand, on the other hand, had contended that
 the map, not being the work of the Mixed Commission, had no binding
character; that the frontier indicated on it was not the true watershed line and
that the true watershed line would place the Temple in Thailand;
 that the map had never been accepted by Thailand;
 or, alternatively, that if Thailand had accepted it she had done so only because of
a mistaken belief that the frontier indicated corresponded with the watershed
line.
 (Principle of Acquiescence and Estoppel)
Temple of Preah Vihear case
It was clear from the record, however, that the maps were communicated to the
Siamese Government as purporting to represent the outcome of the work of
delimitation; since there was no reaction on the part of the Siamese authorities,
either then or for many years, they must be held to have acquiesced.
The maps were moreover communicated to the Siamese members of the Mixed
Commission, who said nothing. to the Siamese Minister of the Interior, Prince
Damrong, who thanked the French Minister in Bangkok for them, and to the
Siamese provincial governors, some of whom knew of Preah Vihear.
But in 1934-1935 a survey had established a divergence between the map line and
the true line of the watershed, Thailand had nevertheless continued to publish maps
showing Preah Vihear as lying in Cambodia. Moreover, in the course of the
negotiations for the 1925 and 1937 Franco Siamese Treaties, and in 1947 in
Washington, Thailand never raised the matter. The natural inference was that she
had accepted the frontier at Preah Vihear as it was drawn on the map, irrespective
of its correspondence with the watershed line. Thailand had stated that having been,
at all material times, in possession of Preah Vihear, she had felt no need to raise the
matter.
 (Principle of Acquiescence and Estoppel)
Temple of Preah Vihear case
Moreover, when in 1930 Prince Damrong, on a visit to the Temple, was officially
received there by the French Resident for the adjoining Cambodian province, Siam
failed to react.
Thailand had for fifty years enjoyed benefits as the Treaty of 1904. From these
facts, the court concluded that Thailand had accepted the Annex I map.
The Court therefore felt bound to pronounce in favour of the frontier indicated on
the Annex I map in the disputed area and it became unnecessary to consider
whether the line as mapped did in fact correspond to the true watershed line.
Nemo Judex in Causa sua - Chorzow Factory Case PCIJ (1927)
Court held that Poland taking over Nitrate factory at Chorzow was incompatible
with the Geneva Convention of 1922 between Germany and Poland. PCIJ held that
a party cannot take advantage of its own wrong as a principle.
Subrogation – Mavrommitis Palestine Concessions case PCIJ
(1925)
A Greek subject received in 1914 concessions from the Ottoman authorities in
regard to certain public work to be constructed in Palestine but later new British
Govt refused to give concessions. PCIJ applying principle of Subrogation
(Substitution or stepping into shoes of another) held that concessions concerning
Jerusalem were valid, but since Mavrommitis suffered no loss, the claim of
indemnity was dismissed.
Equity–North Sea Continental Shelf case (Germany v. Denmark
/ Netherlands) 1969
International Court of Justice refused to delimit continental shelves by applying
equidistance principle as it resulted in inequity under the special circumstances
(geographical configurations of the coasts) which existed in that case. Article 38(2)
of the ICJ Statute provides that court may decide the case ex aequo et bono
(consideration of fair dealing and good faith, and may even go outside the realm of
law (e.g. compromise, conciliation), if the parties agree thereto.
Equity–North Sea Continental Shelf case (Germany v. Denmark
/ Netherlands) 1969
Statute of International Court of Justice (Article 38) recognises following sources
of International Law
a. international conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules
expressly recognized by the contesting states;
b. international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law; (opino
juris sive necessitatis-a psychological feeling on part of the States that they are
legally obliged to follow international law). Pacta Sunt Servanda- treaties must be
obliged is also a customary rule of international law.
c. the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations;
d. judicial decisions (not binding) and the teachings of the most highly qualified
publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination of rules
of law.
According to Article 38(2): This provision shall not prejudice the power of the
Court to decide a case ex aequo et bono, if the parties agree thereto.
Modern Sources
General Assembly resolutions, even if they are not binding, may sometimes have
normative value as opino juris.
Security Council Resolutions are binding on the Members by virtue of Art 25 of
UN.
Statute of International Court of Justice (Article 38) recognises following sources
of International Law
a. international conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules
expressly recognized by the contesting states;
b. international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law; (opino
juris sive necessitatis-a psychological feeling on part of the States that they are
legally obliged to follow international law). Pacta Sunt Servanda- treaties must be
obliged is also a customary rule of international law.
c. the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations;
d. judicial decisions (not binding) and the teachings of the most highly qualified
publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination of rules
of law.
According to Article 38(2): This provision shall not prejudice the power of the
Court to decide a case ex aequo et bono, if the parties agree thereto.
Modern Sources
General Assembly resolutions, even if they are not binding, may sometimes have
normative value as opino juris.
Security Council Resolutions are binding on the Members by virtue of Art 25 of
UN.
 Advisory Opinion of ICJ on Namibia, ICJ Rep. 1971, p. 16
On 27 October 1966, the General Assembly decided that the Mandate for South
West Africa was terminated and that South Africa had no other right to administer
the Territory. In 1969 the Security Council called upon South Africa to withdraw its
administration from the Territory, and on 30 January 1970 it declared that the
continued presence of the South African authorities in Namibia was illegal. On 29
July 1970, the Security Council decided to request of the Court an advisory opinion
on the legal consequences for States of the continued presence of South Africa in
Namibia. In its Advisory Opinion of 21 June 1971, the Court found that the
continued presence of South Africa in Namibia was illegal and that South Africa
was under an obligation to withdraw its administration immediately.
ICJ commented that General Assembly is not debarred from adopting in specific
cases within the framework of its competence, resolutions which make
determinations or have operative designs. United Nations Charter established a
relationship between all Members of the United Nations on the one side, and each
mandatory Power on the other, and that one of the fundamental principles
governing that relationship is that the party which disowns or does not fulfil its
obligations cannot be recognized as retaining the rights which it claims to derive
from the relationship.
Advisory Opinion of ICJ in Western Sahara Case, ICJ Rep. 1975, p. 12
On 13 December 1974, the General Assembly requested an advisory opinion on the
following questions:
“I. Was Western Sahara (Rio de Oro and Sakiet El Hamra) at the time of
colonization by Spain a territory belonging to no one (terra nullius) ?”
“II. What were the legal ties between this territory and the Kingdom of
Morocco and the Mauritanian entity ?”
In its Advisory Opinion, delivered on 16 October 1975, the Court replied to
Question I in the negative.
In reply to Question II, Court‘s conclusion was that the materials and information
presented to it did not establish any tie of territorial sovereignty between the
territory of Western Sahara and the Kingdom of Morocco or the Mauritanian entity.
Thus the Court did not find any legal ties of such a nature as might affect the
application of the General Assembly‘s 1960 resolution 1514 (XV) containing the
Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in
the decolonization of Western Sahara and, in particular, of the principle of self-
determination through the free and genuine expression of the will of the peoples.
Advisory Opinion of ICJ in Western Sahara Case, ICJ Rep. 1975, p. 12
Article 1
The Purposes of the United Nations are:
(1)To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take
effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to
the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches
of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with
the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of
international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the
peace;
(2)To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the
principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take
other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace;
(3)To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of
an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting
and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms
for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and
(4)To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of
these common ends.
Advisory Opinion of ICJ in Western Sahara Case, ICJ Rep. 1975, p. 12
ICJ CHAPTER IX: INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CO-OPERATION
Article 55
With a view to the creation of conditions of stability and well-being which
are necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations based on
respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples,
the United Nations shall promote:
a. higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic
and social progress and development;
b. solutions of international economic, social, health, and related
problems; and international cultural and educational cooperation; and
c. universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental
freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.
Article 56
All Members pledge themselves to take joint and separate action in co-
operation with the Organization for the achievement of the purposes set
forth in Article 55.
Advisory Opinion of ICJ in Western Sahara Case, ICJ Rep. 1975, p. 12
CHAP XI: DECLARATION REGARDING NON-SELF-GOVERNING TERRITORIES
Article 73
Members of the United Nations which have or assume responsibilities for
the administration of territories whose peoples have not yet attained a full
measure of self-government recognize the principle that the interests of the
inhabitants of these territories are paramount, and accept as a sacred trust
the obligation to promote to the utmost, within the system of international
peace and security established by the present Charter, the well-being of the
inhabitants of these territories, and, to this end:
a. to ensure, with due respect for the culture of the peoples concerned, their
political, economic, social, and educational advancement, their just
treatment, and their protection against abuses;
b. to develop self-government, to take due account of the political
aspirations of the peoples, and to assist them in the progressive
development of their free political institutions, according to the particular
circumstances of each territory and its peoples and their varying stages of
advancement;
Advisory Opinion of ICJ in Western Sahara Case, ICJ Rep. 1975, p. 12
ICJ indicated that declarations on decolonisation and self determination implement
the UN Charter provisions in Article 1, 55, 56 and Chapter XI (on non-self
governing territories).
What emerges from an analysis of the abovementioned cases is the proposition that
legal effect may be given to the collective pronouncement of the General Assembly
despite their non-binding character.
In fact, each case that involves and actual dispute as to the legal authority of a
declaration calls for a searching examination of the circumstances leading up to the
declaration and the response after adoption.
It is essential to consider, for example, not only how many States supported the
resolution but also the extent of their interest and involvement, their precise intent
in adopting the resolution, and the position taken by them in other situations.
Advisory Opinion of Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons
(ICJ Reports 1996, p. 226)
The General Assembly requested the International Court of Justice to provide an
advisory opinion on the following question:
Is the threat or use of nuclear weapons in any circumstance permitted under
international law?
States which hold the view that the use of nuclear weapons is illegal have
endeavoured to demonstrate the existence of a customary rule prohibiting this use.
They refer to a consistent practice of non-utilization of nuclear weapons by States
since 1945 and they would see in that practice the expression of an opinio juris on
the part of those who possess such weapons.
Some other States, which assert the legality of the threat and use of nuclear
weapons in certain circumstances, invoked the doctrine and practice of
deterrence in support of their argument. They recall that they have always, in
concert with certain other States, reserved the right to use those weapons in the
exercise of the right to self-defence against an armed attack threatening their vital
security interests. In their view, if nuclear weapons have not been used since 1945,
it is not on account of an existing or nascent custom but merely because
circumstances that might justify their use have fortunately not arisen.
Advisory Opinion of Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons
It is a fact that the members of the international community are profoundly divided
on the matter without forming an opinio juris.
General Assembly resolutions, even if they are not binding, may sometimes have
normative value. They can, in certain circumstances, provide evidence important
for establishing the existence of a rule or the emergence of an opinio juris. To
establish whether this is true of a given General Assembly resolution, it is necessary
to look at its content and the conditions of its adoption. A series of resolutions may
show the gradual evolution of the opinio juris required for the establishment of a
new rule.
The General Assembly resolutions declare that the use of nuclear weapons would
be a direct violation of the UN Charter and that such use should be prohibited.
However, several of the resolutions have been adopted with substantial numbers of
negative votes and abstentions; thus they still fall short of establishing the existence
of an opinio juris on the illegality of the use of such weapons.
Advisory Opinion of Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons
There is desire of a very large section of the international community to take, by a
specific and express prohibition of the use of nuclear weapons, a significant step
forward along the road to complete nuclear disarmament. But it is hampered by the
continuing tensions between the nascent opinio juris on the one hand, and the still
strong adherence to the practice of deterrence on the other.
 SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS
Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration
of Independence in Respect of KOSOVO
Advisory Opinion of I.C.J. (July 22, 2010)
(Resolutions of Security Council as a source of international law)
The General Assembly requested the International Court of Justice to give an
advisory opinion on the following question:
Is the unilateral declaration of independence by the Provisional Institutions of
Self-Government of Kosovo in accordance with international law?
Legality of Security Council Resolutions
Within the legal framework of the United Nations Charter, notably on the basis of
Articles 24, 25 and Chapter VII thereof, the Security Council may adopt resolutions
imposing obligations under international law. This Court has had the occasion to
interpret and apply such Security Council resolutions on a number of occasions and
has consistently treated them as part of the framework of obligations under
international law. Moreover, Security Council resolutions can be binding on all
Member States.
Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration
of Independence in Respect of KOSOVO
History of Kosovo
After the Allied victory in World War II, Yugoslavia was set up as a federation of
six republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia
and Slovenia. Two autonomous provinces were established within Serbia:
Vojvodina and Kosovo. Kosovo is a disputed territory in Serbia, in central Balkans.
Over time, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro gained independence. The
southern Serbian region of Kosovo, however, remained part of Serbia. The Kosovo
Liberation Army fought Serbian forces and a war of independence took place from
about 1998 through 1999.
On June 10, 1999, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution which
ended the war, established a NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo, and provided
for some autonomy which included a 120-member assembly. Over time, Kosovo‘s
desire for full independence grew. The United Nations, the European Union, and
the United States worked with Kosovo to develop an independence plan. Russia
was a major challenge as a U.N. Security Council member with veto power,
promised Serbia to oppose any plan for Kosovo independence. After a lengthy and
often violent dispute with Serbia, Kosovo declared independence in February 2008
Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration
of Independence in Respect of KOSOVO
Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration
of Independence in Respect of KOSOVO
Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) was essentially designed to create an
interim régime for Kosovo, with a view to channelling the long-term political
process to establish its final status. The resolution did not contain any provision
dealing with the final status of Kosovo or with the conditions for its achievement.
Security Council resolution sets out a general framework for the deployment in
Kosovo, under United Nations auspices, of international civil and security
presences. It is mostly concerned with creating obligations and authorizations for
United Nations Member States as well as for organs of the United Nations such as
the Secretary-General and his Special Representative.
The only point at which expressly mentions that the KLA and other armed Kosovo
Albanian groups end immediately all offensive actions and comply with the
requirements for demilitarization and, on the other hand, for the full cooperation by
all concerned, including the international security presence, with the International
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. There is no indication, that the Security
Council intended to impose, beyond that, a specific obligation to act or a
prohibition from acting, addressed to such other actors.
Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration
of Independence in Respect of KOSOVO
It has not been uncommon for the Security Council to make demands on actors
other than United Nations Member States and intergovernmental organizations. For
example Resolution 1199 (1998) included four separate demands on the Kosovo
Albanian leadership,
 i.e., improving the humanitarian situation,
 entering into a dialogue with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,
 pursuing their goals by peaceful means only,
 and co-operating fully with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia.
Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) did not contain a prohibition, binding on
the authors of the declaration of independence, against declaring independence; nor
can such a prohibition be derived from the language of the resolution understood in
its context and considering its object and purpose.
The Court accordingly finds that Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) did not
bar the authors of the declaration of 17 February 2008 from issuing a declaration of
independence from the Republic of Serbia. Hence, the declaration of independence
did not violate Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).
International conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules
expressly recognized by the contesting States. International treaty is an agreement
concluded between States in written form and governed by international law. These
are of two kinds
General also known as ‗Law making Treaties‘ which lay down rules of general or
universal application such as United Nations Charter.
Particular treaties (Treaty Contracts) are between two or only a few states,
dealing with a special matter concerning these States exclusively.
Making of treaty in India is an executive act. A treating is negotiated and requires
approval of Cabinet for signature. Many treaty come into force on signature, but
some require ratification.
Ratification is a State‘s formal expression of consent to be bound by a treaty. It
means that treaties need to be confirmed, before their binding obligations are
assumed, by signatory States in accordance with their constitutional procedures.
Most multilateral (general) treaties contain provisions enabling non-signatory States
to accede to them. Accession entails the consent to be bound by a State that has not
previously signed the instrument.
A member State of a treaty may make reservations in the treaty. Reservations
means that at the time of signing, ratifying, approving or acceding to a treaty, a
member State may exclude or modify certain provisions of treaty.
There is customary rule of international law that every treaty in force is binding
upon the parties to it and must be performed by them in good faith, known as
‗Pacta sunt servanda‘.
But very essential general rules of public law or rights cannot be violated by treaties
between States. So ‗jus cogens‘ is body of those general rules of law whose non-
observance may affect the very essence of legal system.
Though treaties must be respected, but sometimes after accepting the treaty,
circumstances may arise which frustrate or destroy the very object of the
agreement.
Doctrine of ‗Rebus sic stantibus‘ insists that a treaty is binding so long as there is
no vital change in the circumstances.
The principle of mare librum, i.e. freedom of seas was first placed on a legal basis in 1604
by Dutch juris Hugo Grotius. His work mare librum was published in 1609.

Selden‘s mare clausum (1635) maintained the right of appropriation by English Kings of the
waters surrounding Great Britain.
Historical background
The doctrine of freedom of seas disrespected by US President Harry S. Truman on 28 Sep,
1945 and proclaimed the natural resources of the seabed and subsoil of continental shelf
beneath the high seas but contiguous to the coasts of US.
Laws of seas were observed by States as customary rules of International Law during
Grotius time. In 1958 four conventions were adopted:
(i) Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contagious Zone
(ii) Convention on High Seas
(iii) Convention on Fishing and Conservation of Living Resources
(iv) Convention on the Continental Shelf
In 1967,Arvid Pardo of Malta informed the General Assembly about the tremendous wealth
of the oceans in the form of mineral and hydrocarbon resources.
In 1970, General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution concerning Declaration of
Principles Governing the Seabed and Ocean Floor based on Common Hetitage of Mankind.
It was during 1970‘s that Geneva conventions of 1958 were repealed by international custom
which was finally codified into United Nations Convention on Law of Sea in 1982.
Pardo initiative opened the way for Third UN Conference on Law of Sea (longest conference
in the history of international law). The first session was held in 1973 at New York.
UN Convention on Law of Sea was opened for signatures on 10 th Dec, 1982 at Montego
Bay, Jamaica. The convention came in force on Nov 16, 1994. India signed in 1982 &
ratified it in 1995.
The convention is comprehensive document and covers almost every aspect on law of sea
but is silent on certain issues such as innocent passage of warships, delimitation of continent
shelf between adjacent States. Law of Sea convention is called ‗Package Deal‘ (means
without agreement on all issues).
On 28th July 1994, an agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the UN
Convention on the Law of Sea was adopted by the UN General Assembly. Part XI
constitutes regime of International Seabed Area declaring it as common heritage of mankind
and establishment of International Seabed Authority based in Kingston, Jamaica.
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
International law expert Neeru Chadha won the crucial election to the International Tribunal
for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), becoming the first Indian woman to be appointed as a judge
at the tribunal for a nine-year term from 2017 to 2026.
The UN defined Human rights as those rights which are inherent in our state of
nature and without which we cannot live as human beings. Human rights are the
rights that everyone has equally by virtue of their humanity.
The concept of human rights acknowledges that every single human being is
entitled to enjoy his or her human rights without distinction as to race, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property,
birth or other status.
The world is filled with examples of violations of basic rights such as:
 Censorship,
 Discrimination,
 Political imprisonment,
 Torture,
 Slavery,
 Disappearances,
 Genocide,
 Extrajudicial killings,
 Arbitrary arrests and killings,
 Poverty,
 Violation of the rights of women and children etc.
Human rights are founded on respect for the dignity and worth of each person.
There are five basic tenets underlying human rights are:
Universal in that they belong to all people equally regardless of status. All people
are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
Inalienable in that they may not be taken away or transferred. People still have
human rights even when their governments violate those rights.
Interconnected, interrelated and interdependent because the fulfillment or
violation of one right affects the fulfillment of all other rights. In practice, the
violation of one right will often affect the respect of several other rights.
Indivisible as no right can be treated in isolation. No one right is more important
than another. All human rights should therefore be seen as having equal importance
and of being equally essential to respect for the dignity and worth of every person.
Non-discriminatory in that human rights should be respected without distinction,
exclusion, restriction, or preference based on race, color, age, national or ethnic
origin, language, religion, sex, or any other status, which has the purpose or effect
of impairing the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Human rights may be classified into various generations or dimension:
First generation rights - associated with civil and political rights; i.e. the liberal
rights of non-interference and the democratic participation (e.g. the right to freedom
from arbitrary arrest, to freedom of assembly or freedom of conscience and
expression)
Second generation rights – These rights are based on harmonisation of individual
and collective interests in socialist societies. The social, economic and cultural
rights include right to work, social security, food, health, education etc.
Third generation rights – Solidarity rights favoured by the South are based on
concept of universalism. These include right to self-determination, peace,
development, common heritage of mankind, environment, sustainable development
Fourth generation rights – These are linked mostly to issues of Intergenerational
Justice or the Rights of Future Generations. They refer to rights that relate to
genetic engineering, rights deriving from exploration and exploitation of cosmic
space. The right to information is also a facet of the continuously evolving fourth
generation of human rights.
Many trace the historical origins of human rights to ancient Greece and Rome,
where it is closely tied to the pre modem natural law doctrines of Greek Stoicism.
The Stoics were a group of philosophers who first began teaching their ideas in
the Hellenistic period. Stoicism was founded by a man named Zeno, who lived
from 335-263 BC, which teaches the development of self-control and fortitude as a
means of overcoming destructive emotions.
The Roman jurist Ulpian (170 – 223 AD) declared that according to the law of
nature, all men are equal and born free.
The present concept of human rights can also be identified with early Christian
philosophy or with the advent of medieval constitutionalism. For instance, Thomas
Aquinas (1224-1274) in his writing Summa Theologica (Summary of Theology)
revived and expounded the classical doctrine that human dignity sets moral
limits to political rule.
Documents asserting individual rights as precursors of human rights are:
The Magna Carta (1215)
The English Bill of Rights (1689)
The French Declaration on the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789) and
The US Constitution and Bill of Rights (1791)
But the first fully elaborated doctrine of human rights seemed to have appeared in
the form of natural rights in the political writings of Thomas Hobbes (1588 -1679 )
called the Leviathan which expounded an influential formulation of social
contract theory.
According to Thomas Hobbes, all men are equal and each is dominated by the
desire for self preservation.
Two major influences in the mid-twentieth century propelled human rights onto
the global arena and the awareness of people around the world.
The first was struggles of colonial people to assert their independence from
foreign powers, claiming their human equality and right to self-determination.
The second catalyst was the Second World War. The extermination by Nazi
Germany of over six million Jews, Roma people, homosexuals and persons with
disabilities horrified the world. Calls came from across the globe for human rights
standards to bolster international peace and protect citizens from abuses by
governments.
Until 1945, international protection of individual human rights was confined to
treaties abolishing slave trade, the laws of war and the minority rights which
were concluded after the Treaty of Versailles (June 28, 1919).
It was in 1945 after Second World War, that the rights of all human individuals have
come under the protection of international law. These voices played a critical role in
the establishment of the United Nations in 1945 and are echoed in its founding
document, the UN Charter.
The Charter of the United Nations was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, at
the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organization, and
came into force on 24 October 1945.
The rules of State behavior and rights pertaining to individuals within states were
rewritten in authoritative international documents such as:
The United Nations Charter 1945;
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948;
The Genocide Convention of 1948;
The revision of the Geneva Conventions in 1949;
The European Convention on Human Rights 1950;
Article 1 provides that the Purposes of the United Nations are:
1) To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take
effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the
peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the
peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the
principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of
international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace;
2) To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the
principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other
appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace;
3) To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of
an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting
and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms
for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and
4) To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of
these common ends.
Article 55, states that the United Nations shall promote
(a) higher standards of living, full employment,
(b) conditions of economic and social progress and development, and
(c) universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental
freedoms for all.
Article 56 provides that: all members pledge themselves to take joint and separate
action in co-operation with the organization and for the achievement of the
purposes set forth in Article 55.
According to Article 62, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) was
empowered to make recommendations on its own initiative, with respect to
international economic, social and other humanitarian matters.
Rights for all members of the human family were first articulated in the United
Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), one of the first initiatives
of the newly established United Nations.
At its first meeting in 1946, the General Assembly transmitted a draft Declaration
of Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms to the Commission on Human
Rights established under Article 68 of the Charter by Economic and Social
Council, relative to the preparation of an international bill of human rights.
In 1948, the draft declaration was revised and submitted through the Economic and
Social Council to the General Assembly. The UN General Assembly ratified the
declaration unanimously, without dissenting vote on 10 December 1948, the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted – a day celebrated each year
as ―Human Rights Day‖.
The UDHR was the first international document that spelled out the ―basic civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights that all human beings should enjoy.‖
The vote to adopt the UDHR was considered a triumph as it unified diverse nations
and conflicting political regimes.
The rights proclaimed in the UDHR are usually divided into civil and political
rights and economic, social and cultural rights.
The declaration outlined a common standard of achievement for the future of
human rights and has become the cornerstone of human rights. However, the
UDHR is not a binding treaty, but rather a declaration of principles of human
rights.
Although the Universal Declaration has achieved the status of customary
international law in its more than sixty years, as a declaration it is only a statement
of intent, a set of principles to which United Nations member states commit
themselves in an effort to provide all people a life of human dignity.
For the rights defined in a declaration to have full legal force, they must be written
into documents called conventions (also referred to as treaties or covenants),
which set international norms and standards.
Since its adoption in 1948, the Universal Declaration has served as the foundation
for the twenty major human rights conventions. Together these constitute the
human rights framework, the evolving body of these international documents that
define human rights and establish mechanisms to promote and protect them.
A precise classification of rights under UDHR are:
Personal rights: Right to life, nationality, recognition before law, protection
against cruel, degrading, or inhuman treatment or punishment; protection against
racial, ethnic, sexual, or religious discrimination
Legal Rights: Access to remedies for violation of basic rights, presumption of
innocence, the guarantee of fair and impartial public trials, protection against
arbitrary arrest, detention or exile, prohibition against ex post facto laws, and
arbitrary interference with one‘s family, home or reputation
Civil Liberties: freedom of thought, conscience, religion, movement and residence
Subsistence Rights: Right to food and a standard of living
Economic Rights: Right to work, rest and leisure, and social security
Social and Cultural Rights: Right to education and to participate in the cultural
life of the community
Political Rights: Rights to take part in government and elections with universal
and equal suffrage, political aspects of civil liberties
Principal United Nations Human Rights Conventions
 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 1948
 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951
 Slavery Convention of 1926, Amended by Protocol, 1953
 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966
 The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights, 1966
 International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial
Discrimination, 1966
 Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes
and Crimes Against Humanity, 1968
 Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women,
1979
 Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment, 1984
 Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989
 Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and the Members of their
Families, 1990
 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights was adopted
by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 1966, and came into
force on January 3, 1976.
The Preamble to the Covenant states that state parties to the Covenant, in
accordance with the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations,
should recognize the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all
members of the human family which is the foundation of freedom, justice, and
peace in the world.
Article 1 of the ICESCR states that all peoples have the right of self-
determination, by virtue of which they can freely determine their political status
and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural developments.
It provide recognition for the right to work (Article. 6), the right of everyone to
social security (Article. 9) and to an adequate standard of living for any
individual and his or her family (Article. 11).
The ICESCR has no provisions for interpretation and application. Instead it
provides a reporting procedure, through the UN Secretary General, to the UN
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which may transmit the state reports to
the Human Rights Commission with recommendations of a general nature.
Though adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 16th December
1966 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) came into
force on March 23, 1976.
The ICCPR has 53 Articles, which define in much greater detail than the UDHR
and imposing an absolute and immediate obligation on each of the state parties to
respect and ensure these rights to all individuals within its territories and subject to
its jurisdiction.
According to Article 2, each state party is obligated to undertake, respect and to
ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights
recognized in the present Covenant, without discrimination of any kind such as
race, color, sex, language, religion political or other opinion, national or social
origin, property, birth or other status.
Article 25 of the ICCPR provides equal rights for all citizens to take part in the
conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; to vote
and be elected at genuine periodic elections based on universal and equal suffrage,
secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression and will of the electors, coupled with
other rights to freedom of speech, association and peaceful assembly and
allowing for variation in electoral and constitutional arrangements.
The ICCPR contains provisions which include rights, inter-alia, and
 the right to life and to protection against arbitrary deprivation of life;
 freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment;
freedom from slavery; the right to liberty and to security of person;
 the prohibition against arbitrary arrest or detention; the right to a fair and public
trial;
 the right of detainees to be treated with dignity;
 the prohibition against imprisonment for debt;
 freedom of movement and residence, including the right to have citizenship or
nationality; protection for aliens lawfully within a state's territory against
arbitrary expulsion;
 the prohibition against arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home,
correspondence; freedom of thought, conscience, religion, opinion or
expression, association and peaceful assembly;
 protection for the family and children;
 the right to participate in public affairs; the prohibition of discrimination;
 and the right of minorities to enjoy their own culture, practice their religion, and
to use their own language.
This system evolved under the UN Economic and Social Council, which set up the
Commission on Human Rights, as mandated by article 68 of the UN Charter. The
Commission did not consist of independent experts, but was made up of 54
governmental representatives elected by the Council, irrespective of the human
rights record of the States concerned. As a consequence, States earmarked as some
of the worst human rights violators served as members of the Commission. .
Leapfrogging a few decades to 2005, in his report In Larger Freedom: Towards
Development, Security and Human Rights for All, the former UN Secretary-
General, Kofi Annan, called for the replacement of the Commission by a smaller,
permanent and human rights-compliant Council, able to fill the credibility gap left
by States that used their Commission membership "to protect themselves against
criticism and to criticize others".
The major reason for replacing the Commission was the very selective way in
which it exercised its country-specific mandate, due mainly to the political bias of
representatives and the ability of more powerful countries to deflect the attention
away from themselves and those enjoying their support. In 2006, the General
Assembly decided to follow the Secretary-General's recommendation, creating the
Human Rights Council as a replacement to the Commission on Human Rights.
The instrument has also established a Human Rights Committee (HRC) having
competence in three matters:
a) to comment on reports that are to be submitted by the state parties on the
measures they have adopted to comply with their obligations under the
covenant;
b) to investigate complaints by state parties of failures by other state parties to
fulfill their obligations under the covenant;
c) under the optional protocol, to investigate complaints from victims of such
failures
The Human Rights Committee is established under article 28 of the Covenant. It
has 18 members, who must be nationals of States parties to the Covenant. Members
of the Committee, as of other treaty bodies, are also often called ―experts‖
The Human Rights Committee is the body of independent experts that monitors
implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by its
State parties.
In addition to the reporting procedure, article 41 of the Covenant provides for the
Committee to consider inter-state complaints. Furthermore, the First Optional
Protocol to the Covenant gives the Committee competence to examine individual
complaints with regard to alleged violations of the Covenant by States parties to the
Protocol.
The full competence of the Committee extends to the Second Optional Protocol to
the Covenant on the abolition of the death penalty with regard to States who have
accepted the Protocol. The Committee meets in Geneva and normally holds
three sessions per year.
The Committee also publishes its interpretation of the content of human rights
provisions, known as general comments on thematic issues or its methods of work.
All States parties are obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how the
rights are being implemented. States must report initially one year after acceding to
the Covenant and then whenever the Committee requests (usually every four years).
The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and
recommendations to the State party in the form of "concluding observations‖.
The International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, and the ICCPR and its two Optional Protocols, are
collectively known as the International Bill of Rights.

There are two optional protocols to the ICCPR which gives additional human rights
protections.
First Optional Protocol:
This protocol allows victims claiming to be victims of human rights violations to be
heard. The Human Rights Committee (Committee), which is established by the
Covenant, has the jurisdiction to receive, consider and hear communications from
victims. The first Optional Protocol came into force with the Covenant. There are
currently 35 signatories and 115 parties to this protocol. The Optional Protocol
entered into force on March 23, 1976.
Second Optional Protocol:
This protocol aims to abolish the death penalty. It was entered into force on July 11,
1991 and it currently has 37 signatories and 81 parties.
The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights
The Optional Protocol entered into force on March 23, 1976.
The purpose of the Optional Protocol as mentioned in the text of the document
states that, in order to achieve the purposes of the Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights and the implementation of its provisions it would be appropriate to enable
the Human Rights Committee to receive and consider communications from
individuals claiming to be victims of violations of any of the rights set forth in
the Covenant. Since then the Human Rights Committee has adopted rules of
procedure and carried out a substantial volume of work including thorough
examination of reports of many states, and the consideration of a number of
complaints under the Optional Protocol.
Any party may refer an alleged breach of the Convention by another party to the
Human Rights Committee. In addition, parties may by declaration recognize the
competence of the Human Rights Committee to receive petitions from any person,
group of persons, non-governmental organizations, etc, regarding violation of the
rights provided in the Convention.
Teheran World Conference on Human Rights – 1968
The International Conference on Human Rights held in Teheran from April 22 to
May 13 1968 was the first world meeting on human rights to review the progress
made in the twenty years that had elapsed since the adoption of the UDHR.
 Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries;
 invited the international community to co-operate in eradicating massive denials
of human rights;
 invited States to make an effort to bridge the gap between the economically
developed and developing countries;
 recognized the indivisibility of civil, political, economic, social and cultural
rights;
 invited States to increase efforts to eradicate illiteracy, to eliminate
discrimination against women, and to protect and guarantee children‘s rights.
By reaffirming the principles set out in the International Bill of Human Rights, the
Proclamation of Teheran paved the way for the creation of a number of
international human rights instruments.
Vienna World Conference on Human Rights – 1993
On 14 June 1993, the World Conference reviewed the development of human rights
standards, the structure of human rights frameworks and examined ways to further
advance respect for human rights.
Members from 171 States, with the participation of some 7,000 delegates including
academics, treaty bodies, national institutions and representatives of more than 800
non-governmental organizations, adopted by consensus the Vienna Declaration and
Programme of Action.
In light of the high degree of support for and consensus from the Conference, the
Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action can be perceived as a forceful
common plan for strengthening human rights work throughout the world.
The Conference agenda included examination of the link between development,
democracy and economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights, and an
evaluation of the effectiveness of United Nations methods and mechanisms for
protecting human rights as a means of recommending actions likely to ensure
adequate financial and other resources. The final document agreed to in Vienna was
endorsed by the 48th session of the General Assembly (resolution 48/121, of 1993).
Vienna World Conference on Human Rights – 1993
On 14 June 1993, the World Conference reviewed the development of human rights
standards, the structure of human rights frameworks and examined ways to further
advance respect for human rights.
Members from 171 States, with the participation of some 7,000 delegates including
academics, treaty bodies, national institutions and representatives of more than 800
non-governmental organizations, adopted by consensus the Vienna Declaration and
Programme of Action.
In light of the high degree of support for and consensus from the Conference, the
Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action can be perceived as a forceful
common plan for strengthening human rights work throughout the world.
The contents of the Declaration The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action
marked the culmination of a long process of review of and debate on the status of
the human rights machinery worldwide. It also marked the beginning of a renewed
effort to strengthen and further implement the body of human rights instruments
that had been painstakingly constructed on the foundation of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights since 1948.
Vienna World Conference on Human Rights – 1993
Significantly, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action:
reaffirmed the human rights principles that had evolved over the past 45 years and
called for the further strengthening of the foundation for ensuring continued
progress in the area of human rights;
reaffirmed the universality of human rights and the international commitment to the
implementation of human rights;
proclaimed that democracy, development and respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms as interdependent and mutually reinforcing.
International humanitarian law (sometimes referred to as ―the law of armed
conflict‖ and ―the law of war‖) is a body of principles and norms intended to limit
human suffering in times of armed conflict and to prevent atrocities.
It can be defined as that part of international law comprising international treaty
and customary law which seeks to protect persons who are not, or are no longer,
taking part in the hostilities (i.e. sick, wounded or shipwrecked combatants,
prisoners of war and civilians), and to restrict the method and means of warfare
between parties to a conflict.
The 1864 Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the
Wounded in Armies in the Field laid the foundations for contemporary
humanitarian law.
Link between humanitarian and human rights law
In other words, it was thought that human rights law was less applicable in
situations of humanitarian emergency and armed conflict.
However, the provisions of most international human rights instruments apply even
in times of armed conflict.
The Geneva Convention produced a group of international laws for the humane
treatment of wounded or captured military personnel, medical personnel and non-
military civilians during war or armed conflicts. The agreements originated in 1864
and were significantly updated in 1949 after World War II.
In 1859, Genevan businessman Henry Dunant travelled to Emperor Napoleon
III‘s headquarters in northern Italy to seek land rights for a business venture. He
found himself a witness to the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino, a gory battle in
the Second War of Italian Independence. The horrific suffering Dunant saw
impacted him so greatly he wrote a first-hand account in 1862 called A Memory of
Solferino. But he didn‘t just write about what he‘d observed, he also proposed a
solution.
In October 1863, delegates from 16 countries along with military medical
personnel travelled to Geneva to discuss the terms of a wartime humanitarian
agreement. A resultant treaty signed by 12 nations became the First Geneva
Convention 1864.
In 1906, the Swiss government arranged a conference of 35 states to review and
update improvements to the First Geneva Convention. The 1906 Convention
replaced the First Geneva Convention of 1864.
The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 are a series of international multilateral
treaties and declarations negotiated at two international peace conferences at The
Hague in the Netherlands.
Both conferences included negotiations concerning disarmament, the laws of
war and war crimes. They were largely based on the Lieber Code, which was
signed and issued by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln to the Union Forces of the
United States on 24 April 1863, during the American Civil War. A third conference
was planned for 1914 and later rescheduled for 1915, but it did not take place due
to the start of World War I.
A major effort in both conferences was the creation of a binding international court
for compulsory arbitration to settle international disputes. This effort, however,
failed but the Permanent Court of Arbitration, was established.
1925 Geneva Protocol to Hague Conventions
Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other
Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare.
Its single article permanently bans the use of all forms of chemical and biological
warfare. The protocol has since been augmented by the Biological Weapons
Convention (1972) and the Chemical Weapons Convention (1993).
After World War I (1914-18), it was clear the 1906 Convention and The Hague
Convention of 1907 didn‘t go far enough.
In 1929, updates were made to further the civilized treatment of prisoners of war.
The new updates stated all prisoners must be treated with compassion and live in
humane conditions. It also laid out rules for the daily lives of prisoners and
established the International Red Cross as the main neutral organization responsible
for collecting and transmitting data about prisoners of war and the wounded or
killed.
Germany signed the Convention of 1929, however, that didn‘t prevent them from
carrying out horrific acts on and off the battlefield and within their military prison
camps and civilian concentration camps during World War II (1939-45). As a result,
the Geneva Conventions were expanded in 1949 to protect non-combatant civilians.
The Geneva Conventions of 1949 also laid out rules for protecting wounded, sick
or shipwrecked armed forces at sea or on hospital ships as well as medical workers
and civilians accompanying or treating military personnel. It provided that hospital
ships cannot be used for any military purpose nor captured or attacked and all sides
must attempt to rescue any shipwrecked personnel, even those from another side of
the conflict.
In about 1935, a system of repression directed against political opponents of the
Nazi state, began to imprison those whom it designated as racially or biologically
inferior, especially Jews.
During World War II, the organization and scale of the Nazi camp system expanded
and the purpose of the concentration camps evolved beyond imprisonment toward
forced labor or outright murder of more than 700,000 prisoners in January 1945.
The Germans deported Jews from all over occupied Europe to extermination camps
in Poland, where they were systematically killed, and also to concentration camps,
where they were drafted for forced labor—"extermination through work." Several
hundred thousand Roma (Gypsies) and Soviet prisoners of war were also
systematically murdered. Communists, Socialists, and trade unionists, Jehovah's
Witnesses and homosexuals were punished.
Near the end of the war, when Germany's military force was collapsing, the Allied
armies closed in on the Nazi concentration camps. Prisoners were forced to march
long distances in bitter cold, with little or no food, water, or rest. Those who could
not keep up were shot. Between July 1944-April 1945, Soviet, British, Canadian,
American, and French troops freed leftover sick and exhausted prisoners from the
camps.
There were earlier instances of prosecution for war crimes, such as the execution of
Confederate army officer Henry Wirz (1823-65) for his maltreatment of Union
prisoners of war during the American Civil War (1861-65); and the courts-martial
held by Turkey in 1919-20 to punish those responsible for the Armenian genocide
of 1915-16. However, these were trials conducted according to the laws of a single
nation. Nuremberg trial was first international trial of war criminals.
In December 1942, the Allied leaders of Great Britain, the United States and
the Soviet Union ―issued the first joint declaration officially noting the mass murder
of European Jewry and resolving to prosecute those responsible for violence against
civilian populations,‖ .
Joseph Stalin (1878-1953), the Soviet leader, initially proposed the execution of
50,000 to 100,000 German staff officers.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874-1965) discussed the possibility of
summary execution (execution without a trial) of high-ranking Nazis, but was
persuaded by American leaders that a criminal trial would be more effective.
Among other advantages, criminal proceedings would require documentation of the
crimes charged against the defendants and prevent later accusations that the
defendants had been condemned without evidence.
Shortly after Adolf Hitler came to power as chancellor of Germany in 1933, he and
his Nazi government began implementing policies designed to persecute German-
Jewish people and other perceived enemies of the Nazi state. Over the next decade,
these policies grew increasingly repressive and violent and resulted, by the end
of World War II (1939-45), in the systematic, state-sponsored murder of some 6
million European Jews (along with an estimated 4 million to 6 million non-Jews).
In August 8, 1945 Charter of the International Military Tribunal (IMT) was
announced at London Conference to punish those responsible for crimes committed
during the Holocaust. The International Military Tribunal (IMT) was composed of
judges from the United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union for :-
 crimes against peace - defined as participation in the planning and waging of a
war of aggression in violation of numerous international treaties;
 war crimes - defined as violations of the internationally agreed upon rules for
waging war; and
 crimes against humanity - namely, murder, extermination, enslavement,
deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population,
before or during the war; or persecution on political, racial, or religious grounds
in execution of any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, whether or not
in violation of domestic law of the country where perpetrated.
The best-known of the Nuremberg trials was the Trial of Major War Criminals, held
from November 20, 1945, to October 1, 1946.
Hitler and two of his top associates, Heinrich Himmler and Joseph Goebbels, had
each committed suicide in the spring of 1945 before they could be brought to trial.
The defendants were allowed to choose their own lawyers, and the most common
defense strategy was that the crimes defined in the London Charter were examples
of ex post facto law; that is, they were laws that criminalized actions committed
before the laws were drafted. Another defense was that the trial was a form of
victor‘s justice–the Allies were applying a harsh standard to crimes committed by
Germans and leniency to crimes committed by their own soldiers.
Twenty-four individuals were indicted. In the end, the international tribunal found
all but three of the defendants guilty. Twelve were sentenced to death, one in
absentia, and the rest were given prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life
behind bars. One of the indicted men was deemed medically unfit to stand trial,
while a second man killed himself before the trial began. Ten of the condemned
were executed by hanging on October 16, 1946.
Following World War II in 1945, several hundred thousand Jewish survivors were
unable to return to their home countries and remained in Germany, Austria, or Italy.
The Allies established camps for displaced persons for the refugees. Most Jewish
prefered to emigrate to Palestine and many migrated to US. When people tried to
return to their homes from camps or hiding places, they found that, in many cases,
their homes had been looted or taken over by others. It also lead to riots in Poland
in July, 1946.
In July, many Jewish sought to emigrate to Palestine, The British intercept the ship
even before it enters territorial waters off the coast of Palestine. The passengers are
forcibly transferred to British ships and deported back to their port of origin in
France.
In November 1947, through a special session, the United Nations General
Assembly voted to partition Palestine into two new states, one Jewish and the other
Arab. On May 14, 1948, prominent Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion announced
the establishment of the State of Israel and declared that Jewish immigration into
the new state will be unrestricted. Between 1948 and 1951, almost 700,000 Jews
immigrated to Israel, including more than two-thirds of the Jewish displaced
persons in Europe.
In addition to the trials at Nuremberg in Germany, the Allies set up a tribunal to
bring to trial the leaders of Japan. Japan‘s campaign to conquer or control Southeast
Asia and the Pacific Ocean had begun in 1931, when its forces occupied the
province of Manchuria in China. Six years later, Japan invaded the Shanghai-
Nanjing region of China and occupied the city of Nanjing. There, Chinese civilians
and prisoners of war were killed in a savage campaign of rape, torture, and mass
murder by Japanese forces and during their wartime occupation of Manila in the
Philippines.
At their final wartime conference, held in July 1945 at Potsdam, Germany, Allied
leaders agreed on a policy for post-war Japan and to hold the Japanese responsible
for war crimes, including inhumane treatment of Allied prisoners
After the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan in August 1945, the
emperor of Japan issued a statement of unconditional surrender. General Douglas
MacArthur of the United States was put in charge of the occupation of Japan (from
1945 to 1952) established the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, with
trials set to begin in May 1946 in Tokyo. Based on the precedents set at Nuremberg,
the Far East tribunal indicted 28 Japanese military and civilian leaders for war
crimes, crimes against peace (which included planning a war of aggression), and
crimes against humanity. These trials were criticised for unfairness and biasness.
Inspired by the wave of humanitarian following World War II and Nuremberg
Trials, a series of conferences were held in 1949 yielding four distinct conventions:
The First Geneva Convention "for the Amelioration of the Condition of the
Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field― replaced the 1929 convention.
The Second Geneva Convention "for the Amelioration of the Condition of
Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea" replaced the
Hague Convention (X) of 1907
The Third Geneva Convention "relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War"
replaced the 1929 Geneva Convention that dealt with prisoners of war
The Fourth Geneva Convention "relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in
Time of War".
Additional Protocols
 Additional Protocol I relative to the Protection of victims of international armed
conflicts;
 Additional Protocol II relative to the Protection of victims of non international
armed conflicts.
Prisoners of war received expanded protections in the Convention of 1949 such as
Protection against torture, discrimination, hunger and giving the Red Cross the right
to visit them and examine their living conditions.
Articles were put in place to protect wounded, sick and pregnant civilians as well as
mothers and children. It also stated civilians may not be collectively deported or
made to work on behalf of an occupying force without pay. All civilians should
receive adequate medical care and be allowed to go about their daily lives as much
as possible.
In 1977, Protocols I and II were added to the Conventions of 1949. Protocol I
increased protections for civilians, military workers and journalists during
international armed conflicts. It also banned the use of ―weapons that cause
superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering,‖ or cause ―widespread, long-term and
severe damage to the natural environment.‖
Protocol II was established because most victims of armed conflicts since the 1949
Convention were victims of vicious civil wars. The Protocol stated all people not
taking up arms be treated humanely and there should never be an order by anyone
in command for ―no survivors.‖
In accordance with the United Nations Charter, the Security Council has primary
responsibility for:
 the maintenance of peace and international security;
 investigation of any dispute, or any situation that might lead to international
friction or give rise to a dispute, in order to determine whether the continuance
of the dispute or situation is likely to endanger the maintenance of international
peace and security.
By joining the United Nations, all Member States agree to accept and carry out
decisions of the Security Council.
The Security Council has the authority to:
 put human rights mandates into peace-keeping operations or to mandate
separate human rights operations;
 consider gross human rights violations that are threats to peace and security
under article 39 of the Charter and recommend enforcement measures;
 establish international criminal tribunals.
Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter sets out the UN Security Council's
powers to maintain peace. It allows the Council to "determine the existence of any
threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression" and to take military
and nonmilitary action to "restore international peace and security".
Chapter VII: Action with respect to threats to the peace, breaches of the peace,
and acts of aggression
Article 39
The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace,
breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or
decide what measures shall be taken in accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to
maintain or restore international peace and security.
Article 40
SC may call upon the parties concerned to comply with such provisional measures
as it deems necessary or desirable.
Article 41
The Security Council may decide use of un-armed force. These may include
complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal,
telegraphic, radio, communication etc., and the severance of diplomatic relations.
Article 42
Should unarmed measures in Article 41 are found to be inadequate it may take such
action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore
international peace and security.
Article 43
All Members of the United Nations, in order to contribute to the maintenance of
international peace and security, undertake to make available in accordance with a
special agreement or agreements, armed forces, assistance, and facilities.
Article 51
Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or
collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United
Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain
international peace and security.
International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia
Faced with a situation characterized by widespread violations of international
humanitarian and human rights law in the former Yugoslavia, including the
existence of concentration camps and the continuance of the practice of ―ethnic
cleansing‖, the Security Council initially adopted a series of resolutions requesting
that all parties concerned in the conflict comply with the obligations under
international law, more particularly under the Geneva Conventions.
The Security Council reaffirmed the principle of the individual criminal
responsibility of persons who commit or order the commission of grave breaches of
the Geneva Conventions or other breaches of international humanitarian law.
Owing to a lack of compliance with its early resolutions, the Security Council
eventually, acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, adopted
it in its resolution 827 (1993) of 25 May 1993, establishing an international tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands.
The statute defines the Tribunal‘s authority to prosecute four clusters of offences:
grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions;
violations of the laws or customs of war;
genocide; and crimes against humanity.
International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body
of the United Nations established to prosecute serious crimes committed during
the Yugoslav Wars, and to try their perpetrators.
It had jurisdiction over four clusters of crimes committed on the territory of the
former Yugoslavia since 1991: grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions,
violations of the laws or customs of war, genocide, and crimes against humanity.
The maximum sentence it could impose was life imprisonment.
A total of 161 persons were indicted; the final indictments were issued in December
2004, the last of which were confirmed and unsealed in the spring of 2005. The
final fugitive, Goran Hadžić, was arrested on 20 July 2011. The final judgment was
issued on 29 November 2017 and the institution formally ceased to exist on 31
December 2017.
Residual functions of the ICTY, including oversight of sentences and consideration
of any appeal proceedings initiated since 1 July 2013, are under the jurisdiction of a
successor body, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal
Tribunals (IRMCT).
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The scale and severity of gross human rights abuses and ethnic cleansing in
Rwanda during 1994, led to the adoption by the Security Council, on 8 November
1994, of resolution 955 (1994) creating the International Criminal Tribunal for
Rwanda, eighteen months after the International Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia had been established by Security Council resolution 827 of 25 May
1993.
The Statute gives the Tribunal the power to prosecute
genocide,
crimes against humanity,
violations of common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol
II.
The Tribunal‘s jurisdiction covers crimes committed by Rwandans in the territory
of Rwanda and in the territory of neighbouring States as well as non-Rwandan
citizens for crimes committed in Rwanda between 1 January and 31 December
1994. The Tribunal is based in Arusha, Tanzania.
The establishment of an international tribunal to judge political leaders accused of
international crimes was first proposed during the Paris Peace Conference in 1919
following the First World War . The issue was addressed again at a conference held
in Geneva under the auspices of the League of Nations in 1937. The convention
was signed by 13 states, but none ratified it.
Following the Second World War, the allied powers established two ad
hoc tribunals in Nuremberg and Tokyo. In 1948 the United Nations General
Assembly first recognised the need for a permanent international court to deal with
atrocities of the kind prosecuted after the Second World War. At the request of the
General Assembly, the International Law Commission (ILC) drafted two statutes by
the early 1950s but these were shelved during the Cold War, which made the
establishment of an international criminal court politically unrealistic.
Benjamin B. Ferencz, an investigator of Nazi war crimes became a vocal advocate
of the establishment of international rule of law. In June 1989 Prime Minister of
Trinidad and Tobago A. N. R. Robinson revived the idea of a permanent
international criminal court, the General Assembly tasked the ILC with once again
drafting a statute for a permanent court.
While work began on the draft, the United Nations Security Council established
two ad hoc tribunals in the early 1990s. The International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia was created in 1993 in response to large-scale atrocities
committed by armed forces during Yugoslav Wars, and the International Criminal
Tribunal for Rwanda was created in 1994 following the Rwandan Genocide. The
creation of these tribunals further highlighted the need for a permanent international
criminal court.
In 1994, the ILC presented its final draft statute for the International Criminal Court
to the General Assembly and the General Assembly established the Ad Hoc
Committee on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, which met
twice in 1995. After considering the Committee's report, the General Assembly
created the Preparatory Committee on the Establishment of the ICC to prepare a
consolidated draft text.
On 17 July 1998, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court was adopted
by a vote of 120 to 7, with 21 countries abstaining. The seven countries that voted
against the treaty were China, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Qatar, the United States,
and Yemen. Following 60 ratifications, the Rome Statute entered into force on 1
July 2002 and the International Criminal Court was formally established.
The creation of the Rome Statute adopted on 17th July, 1998 by 120 States was in
itself a historic event, marking a milestone in humankind's efforts towards a more
just world.
The Rome Statute then took effect on 1st July 2002, upon ratification by 60 States.
In addition to founding the Court and defining the crimes of genocide, war crimes,
crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression (as of amendments made in
2010). It is the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, integrity or
independence of another State. The definition of this crime was adopted through
amending the Rome Statute at the first Review Conference of the Statute in
Kampala, Uganda, in 2010.
On 15 December 2017, the Assembly of States Parties adopted by consensus a
resolution on the activation of the jurisdiction of the Court over the crime of
aggression as of 17 July 2018.
The Rome Statute also sets new standards for victims representation in the
Courtroom, and ensures fair trials and the rights of the defence.
ICC is not an organ of UN. India has neither signed nor ratified the Rome Statute
on the International Criminal Court
Jurisdiction of International Criminal Court
The Court may exercise jurisdiction in a situation where genocide, crimes against
humanity or war crimes were committed on or after 1 July 2002 and:
 the crimes were committed by a State Party national, or in the territory of a State
Party, or in a State that has accepted the jurisdiction of the Court; or
 the crimes were referred to the ICC Prosecutor by the United Nations Security
Council (UNSC) pursuant to a resolution adopted under chapter VII of the UN
charter.
Chapter VII of UN Charter deals is related to action with respect to threats to the
peace, breaches of the peace, and acts of aggression

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

International law expert Neeru Chadha won the crucial election to the International
Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), becoming the first Indian woman to be
appointed as a judge at the tribunal for a nine-year term from 2017 to 2026.
JURISDICTION, ADMISSIBILITY AND APPLICABLE LAW
Article 5: Crimes withing the jurisdiction of the Court- The Court has
jurisdiction in accordance with this Statute with respect to the following crimes:
(a) The crime of genocide;
(b) Crimes against humanity;
(c) War crimes;
(d) The crime of aggression.
Article 13 Exercise of jurisdiction The Court may exercise its jurisdiction with
respect to a crime referred to in article 5 in accordance with the provisions of this
Statute if:
(a) A situation in which one or more of such crimes appears to have been committed
is referred to the Prosecutor by a State Party in accordance with article 14; (State
referral)
(b) A situation in which one or more of such crimes appears to have been committed
is referred to the Prosecutor by the Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the
Charter of the United Nations; or
(c) The Prosecutor has initiated an investigation in respect of such a crime in
accordance with article 15. (proprio motu)
JURISDICTION, ADMISSIBILITY AND APPLICABLE LAW
Article 35: Service of judges- All judges shall be elected as full-time members of
the Court and shall be available to serve on that basis from the commencement of
their terms of office.
Article 36 Qualifications, nomination and election of judges
As per Art 36(1), subject to the provisions of paragraph 2, there shall be 18 judges
of the Court.
As per Article 36 (6a) The judges shall be elected by secret ballot at a meeting of
the Assembly of States Parties
Several states have argued that the ICC is a tool of Western imperialism, only
punishing leaders from small, weak states while ignoring crimes committed by
richer and more powerful states. Nine out of the ten situations which the ICC has
investigated were in African countries.
In October–November 2016, Burundi, South Africa, and The Gambia all notified the
UNSG of their intention to withdraw from the ICC.
Burundi was the subject of an ongoing preliminary investigation by the ICC at the
time. Burundi‘s withdrawal was notified on 27th Oct which became effective from
27th Oct 2017.
Following The Gambia's presidential election later that year, which ended the long
rule of Yahya Jammeh, The Gambia rescinded its withdrawal notification.
South Africa's exit followed its refusal to execute an ICC warrant for Sudan's al-
Bashir when he was in the country. The constitutionality of South Africa‘s
withdrawal notice was challenged before High Court of South Africa which ruled in
February 2017 that the government's notification was not legal. A parliamentary bill
on ICC withdrawal was subsequently withdrawn by the government. However, the
governing African National Congress party still supports withdrawing, and in 2019 a
new bill was put before Parliament to withdraw from the Statute.
On March 14, 2018, Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine President who is under
preliminary examination by the ICC, announced that the country would withdraw
from the Rome Statute.
He argued that while the Statute was ratified by the Senate of the Philippines in
2011, it was never published in the Official Gazette of the Philippines, a requirement
for penal laws (of which the Rome Statute subscribes as such) to take effect.
Hence, he claimed that the Philippines was never a State Party ab initio.
Additionally, he stated that the ICC was being utilized as a political tool against
weak targets such as the Philippines. The United Nations received the official
notification of withdrawal on March 17, 2018. One year later on March 17, 2019, by
rule, the Philippines' withdrawal became official.
The legal validity of the withdrawal has been challenged at the Supreme Court of
the Philippines, but despite the case being deemed as submitted for resolution, the
Court did not pass any definitive ruling prior to the withdrawal being effective.
António Guterres, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations, took office
on 1st January 2017.
Prior to his appointment as Secretary-General, Mr. Guterres served as United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015
Before joining UNHCR, Mr. Guterres spent more than 20 years in government and
public service. He served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, during
which time he was heavily involved in the international effort to resolve the crisis
in East Timor.
The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly, on the
recommendation of the Security Council. The Secretary-General's selection is
therefore subject to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Security
Council.
2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.
Holy See and State of Palestine are two Non-member States having received a
standing invitation to participate as observers in the sessions and the work of the
General Assembly and maintaining permanent observer missions at Headquarters.
 Judges from India in ICJ
Uptill now four indians have held the post of judge at the international court of
justice
1.Firstly it was Benegal Narsimha Rao himself.(1952–53)
2.Second one was Justice Nagendra singh who entered into his office as judge of the
international court of justice in 1973 and completed his first term of nine years in
1982.He was again appointed as a judge for next term of nine years ,which was due
to in 1991.But he died in the mean time in december 1988. In between he was also
the President of the ICJ from 1985–88.He died in the office leaving his term due of
the judgeship.
3.So later in his place Justice Raghunandan Swarup Pathak was recommended for
the post of judge in the ICJ from India to complete the remaining term of Nagendra
Singh.( 1989–1991).
4.After him it is Justice Dalveer Bhandari (from 2012 – 2017, re-elected 2018-
2027) who is presently a judge in the supreme court. And it is good to be said that he
has got another nine years due to his re-election and thus a second term as a judge at
the ICJ.
A sovereign state is a political entity that is represented by one centralized
government that has sovereignty over a geographic area.
The accepted criteria of statehood were laid down in the Article 1 Montevideo
Convention (1933), which provided that a state must possess a permanent
population, a defined territory, a government, and the capacity to
conduct international relations.
The need for a permanent population and a defined territory is clear, though
boundary disputes e.g., those concerning Albania after World War I and Israel in
1948 do not preclude statehood. The international community (including the UN)
has recognized some states while they were embroiled in a civil war (e.g., the Congo
in 1960 and Angola in 1975), thus eroding the effective-
government criterion. Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina were also recognized as
new states by much of the international community in 1992, though at the time
neither was able to exercise any effective control over significant parts of its
territory. Although independence is required, it need not be more than
formal constitutional independence.
States may become extinct through merger (North and South Yemen in 1990),
absorption (the accession of the Länder states of the German Democratic
Republic into the Federal Republic of Germany in 1990),
limited dismemberment with a territorially smaller state continuing the identity of
the larger state coupled with the emergence of new states from part of the territory
of the latter (the Soviet Union in 1991)
dissolution and reestablishment as new and separate states (the creation of separate
Czech and Slovak republics from Czechoslovakia in 1993)
The international community is the community of sovereign states at an
international platform. For any state to enjoy the rights, duties and obligations of
international law and to be a member of the international community, recognition of
the entity as a state is very important.
Recognition of state under the International Legal System can be defined as ―the
formal acknowledgement or acceptance of a new state as an international
personality by the existing States of the International community‖. The
acknowledgement by the existing state that a political entity has the characteristics
of statehood.
When a state acquires recognition, it gains certain rights, obligations and immunities
such as.
1.It acquires the capacity to enter into diplomatic relations with other states.
2.It acquires the capacity to enter into treaties with other states.
3.The state is able to enjoy the rights and privileges of international statehood.
4.The state can undergo state succession.
5.With the recognition of state comes the right to sue and to be sued.
6.The state can become a member of the United Nations organisation.
1.Consecutive Theory
According to this theory, for a State to be considered as an international person, its
recognition by the existing states as a sovereign required. This theory is of the view
that only after recognition a State gets the status of an International Person and
becomes a subject to International Law. So, even if an entity possesses all the
characteristics of a state, it does not get the status of an international person unless
recognised by the existing States.
This theory does not mean that a State does not exist unless recognised, but
according to this theory, a state only gets the exclusive rights and obligations and
becomes a subject to International Law after its recognition by other existing States.
The main exponents related to this theory are Oppenheim, Hegal and Anziloti.
This theory has been criticised by several jurists. Few of the criticisms of this theory
are:
•This theory is criticised because unless a state is recognised by other existing states,
rights, duties and obligations of statehood community under International Law is not
applicable to it.
•This theory also leads to confusion when a new state is acknowledged and
recognised by some of the existing states and not recognised by other states.
2. Declaratory Theory
According to this theory, any new state is independent of the consent by existing
states. This theory has been laid down under Article 3 of the Montevideo
Conference of 1933. This theory states that the existence of a new state does not
depend on being recognised by the existing state. Even before recognition by other
states, the new state has the right to defend its integrity and independence under
International law.
The main exponents of the Declaratory Theory of Statehood are Wigner, Hall,
Fisher and Brierly. The followers of theory consider the process of recognition as
merely a formal acknowledgement of statehood by other states.
Criticism of the theory
The declaratory theory of statehood has also been criticised. This theory has been
criticised on the ground that this theory alone cannot be applicable for recognition of
a state. When a state having essential characteristics comes into existence as a state,
it can exercise international rights and obligations and here comes the application of
declaratory theory, but when other states acknowledge its existence and the state
gets the legal rights of recognition, the consecutive theory comes into play.
Factory at Chorzow (Germ. v. Pol.), 1927 P.C.I.J. (ser. A) No. 9 (July 26)
After the first world war, a bipartite agreement was entered wherein the control of
Upper Silesia area was transferred by Germany to Poland on the condition that
Poland would not forfeit any property of Germany. On July 3rd, 1922 Poland took
possession of the Chorzow Chorzow, a Germany‘s nitrate factory, and took over the
management. However, Poland in breach of the agreement sold two German
factories located in that area.
Poland was also held to be in violation of the agreement entered with Germany and
made liable to repair any loss suffered by Germany due to the forfeiture of the two
companies as they violated the obligation that Poland had towards Germany in
observance of International law.
In relation to State responsibility, the Permanent Court of International Justice has
observed that: ― It is a principle of international law and even a greater
conception of law, that any breach of an engagement involves an obligation to
make reparation”.
(Territorial Jurisdiction of Int‟l Comm‟n of River Oder (U.K. v. Pol.), 1929
P.C.I.J. (ser. A) No. 23 (Sept. 10)
River Oder is one of the longest rivers in the world. It flows through many regions
including Czechoslovakia, from where it begins, through Poland. The Oder, which
links the industrial province of Silesia with the Baltic has three major tributaries.
The Notec (Netze)and the Warta (Warthe) in the right, whereas on the left bank the
is the Nysa or Neisse which forms the frontier between Poland and Germany. The
territorial jurisdiction of the International Commission of the River Oder was
disputed between Poland and Germany.
No harm principle is a core pillar of the international water law regime, and its inter-
relationship with the principles of equitable and reasonable utilisation and
cooperation. No harm will be described in its harmonised relation to the latter two
principles under the ―community interest‖ approach to trans-boundary watercourses.
As observed by the PCIJ in the River Oder case,
“The community of interest in a navigable river becomes the basis of a common
legal right, the essential features of which are the perfect equality of all
riparian States in the use of the whole course of the river and the exclusion of
any preferential privilege of any one riparian State in relation to the others”.
FORERUNNERS OF UNITED NATIONS
1865 || 1874
States first established international organizations to cooperate on specific matters.
The International Telecommunication Union, headquartered in Geneva,
Switzerland was oldest intergovernmental organization founded in 1865 originally
known as the International Telegraph Union. Its parent organisation is UN
Economic and Social Council.
Universal Postal Union was established in 1874. Both are now United
Nations specialized agencies.
1899 || 1907
The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 are a series of international treaties and
declarations negotiated at two international peace conferences at The Hague in
the Netherlands. These were the first formal statements of the laws of war and war
crimes in the body of international law. One of them was for the Pacific Settlement
of International Disputes and established the Permanent Court of Arbitration for
providing variety of dispute resolution services, which began work in 1902.
A third conference was planned for 1914 and later rescheduled for 1915, but it did
not take place due to the start of World War I.
1919 Treaty of Versailles
League of Nations, was established in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles "to
promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security.―
The International Labour Organization was also created under the Treaty of
Versailles as an affiliated agency of the League. The League of Nations ceased its
activities after failing to prevent the Second World War.
The current official and working languages of the United Nations are:
Arabic
Chinese
English
French
Russian
Spanish
Official languages are the languages in which all official United Nations documents
are made available. Working languages are used for internal communications
among staff.
English and French are the working languages of the Secretariat. Some of the other
official languages may also be working languages in the Regional Commissions.
An informal "coffee club", comprising 40-odd members states, mostly middle-sized
states who oppose bigger regional powers grabbing permanent seats, has been
instrumental in holding back reforms to the United Nations Security Council over
the past six years.
The prime movers of the club include Italy, Spain, Australia, Canada, South Korea,
Argentina and Pakistan. While Italy and Spain are opposed to Germany's bid for
Security Council's permanent membership, Pakistan is opposed to India's bid.
Similarly, Argentina is against Brazil's bid and Australia opposes Japan's. Canada
and South Korea are opposed to developing countries, often dependent on their aid,
wielding more power than them at the UN.
Razali plan, proposed by the then General Assembly president and co-chairman of
the Open-Ended Working Group on Security Council Reform, Malaysia's Ismail
Razali.
Under the plan,the UNSC would have five new permanent members without veto
powers, besides four more non-permanent members taking the council's strength to
24.
António Guterres, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations, took office on
1st January 2017.
When Established
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United
Nations (UN).
It was established in 26th June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and
began work in April 1946.
The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). Of the six
principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York
(United States of America).
The Court‘s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes
submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to
it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine
years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council.
It is assisted by a Registry, its administrative organ. Its official languages are
English and French.
Current President of ICJ is Abdulqawi Yusuf from Somalia having tenure from
2018 till 2021
Elections
Justice Dalveer Bhandari and UK‘s Christopher Greenwood were locked in a neck-
and-neck fight for re-election as the UN could not decide between them after
electing four out of five judges to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Bhandari,
70, received 183-193 votes in the General Assembly and secured all 15 votes in the
Security Council to fill the final vacancy on the ICJ after separate but simultaneous
elections were held at the UN headquarters in New York.

Since 1970, the conventional allocation is

three seats to Asia Pacific,
three seats to Africa,
two seats to Latin America and the Caribbean,
two seats to Eastern Europe and
five seats to Western Europe and Others.

That convention was broken in 2018 when an Asian judge was elected to a seat
previously occupied by judges from the Western Europe and Others group.
 Judges from India in ICJ
Uptill now four indians have held the post of judge at the international court of
justice
1.Firstly it was Benegal Narsimha Rao himself.(1952–53)
2.Second one was Justice Nagendra singh who entered into his office as judge of the
international court of justice in 1973 and completed his first term of nine years in
1982.He was again appointed as a judge for next term of nine years ,which was due
to in 1991.But he died in the mean time in december 1988. In between he was also
the President of the ICJ from 1985–88.He died in the office leaving his term due of
the judgeship.
3.So later in his place Justice Raghunandan Swarup Pathak was recommended for
the post of judge in the ICJ from India to complete the remaining term of Nagendra
Singh.( 1989–1991).
4.After him it is Justice Dalveer Bhandari (from 2012 – 2017, re-elected 2018-
2027) who is presently a judge in the supreme court. And it is good to be said that he
has got another nine years due to his re-election and thus a second term as a judge at
the ICJ.
It was a case of arrest and detention by Pakistan of an individual named Mr.
Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav accused of involvement in espionage and terrorism
activities. Criminal proceedings instituted against Mr. Jadhav and he was sentenced
to death by military court in Pakistan.
India alleged that Pakistan failed to inform Mr. Jadhav of his rights under Article 36,
paragraph 1 (b) of Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963. Pakistan failed
to provide consular access to Mr. Jadhav and breached its obligations under Article
36, paragraph 1 (a) and (c) by denying consular officers of India access to him.
ICJ found the allegations to be ture. It ordered Pakistan to take all measures to
provide for effective review and reconsideration, including, if necessary, by enacting
appropriate legislation and continued stay of execution of death sentence of Mr.
Jadhav.
Myanmar carrie out genocidal violence against the Rohingya in response to two
separate waves of attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on
border outposts in northern Rakhine state in October 2016 and August 2017.
In November 11, 2019, Gambia, a small West African country, accused in its
application to the ICJ seeking proceedings against Myanmar for violating the 1948
Genocide Convention (Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime
of Genocide).
As a direct result of the violent military ―clearance operations‖ that followed the
second attack, close to 800,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh, where
they have been lodged in vast refugee camps since then.
The ICJ directed Myanmar in Jan, 2020 to take all measures in its capacity to
prevent the commission of genocidal acts against the Rohingya; ensure that its
military and allied entities do not commit genocidal acts against the Rohingya;
ensure that all evidence relating to the allegations of this case are preserved; and
finally, submit a compliance report within four months and, thereafter, after every
six months until the final verdict is delivered.
António Guterres, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations, took office
on 1st January 2017.
Prior to his appointment as Secretary-General, Mr. Guterres served as United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015
Before joining UNHCR, Mr. Guterres spent more than 20 years in government and
public service. He served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, during
which time he was heavily involved in the international effort to resolve the crisis
in East Timor.
The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly, on the
recommendation of the Security Council. The Secretary-General's selection is
therefore subject to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Security
Council.
2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.
Holy See and State of Palestine are two Non-member States having received a
standing invitation to participate as observers in the sessions and the work of the
General Assembly and maintaining permanent observer missions at Headquarters.
Venezuela and Libya have been suspended from voting in the UN General Assembly
for the third time in 3 years because of millions of dollars in unpaid dues to the
world body.

Soumya Swaminathan, director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research

(ICMR), was appointed as the Chief Scientist at the WHO.

An Indian Justice Dalveer Bhandari was re-elected as a judge to the International

Court of Justice.

International law expert Neeru Chadha was elected to the International Tribunal for
the Law of the Sea.

In a major diplomatic win and testament to its global stature, India's candidature for
a non-permanent seat at the powerful UN Security Council for a two-year term
(2021-2022) has been unanimously endorsed by the 55- member Asia-Pacific
grouping, including China and Pakistan.
Specialized Agencies are legally independent international organizations with their
own rules, membership, organs and financial resources, which were brought into
relationship with the United Nations through negotiated agreements.
WORLD BANK
It was established in 1944 during Bretton Woods Conference, along with the
International Monetary Fund (IMF)with the mission of financing the reconstruction
of European nations devastated by World War II.
IBRD and IDA are collectively known as World Bank, that provides loans to
countries for capital programs.
It is like a cooperative, made up of 189 member countries. These member countries
or shareholders, are represented by a Board of Governors (BOG), who are the
ultimate policymakers at the World Bank.
The aim of World Bank is to
1. End extreme poverty - reducing share of global population that lives in extreme
poverty to 3 percent by 2030,
2. Promote shared prosperity - by increasing the incomes of the poorest 40 percent
of people in every country and
3. Provide sustainable development.
The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that
make leveraged loans to developing countries.
1. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).
2. International Development Association (IDA).
3. International Finance Corporation (IFC).
4. Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
5. International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
IBRD, IFC and IDA are Specialized Agencies of the UN. ICSID and MIGA are not
Specialized Agencies
IBRD provides loans, guarantees, risk management products, and advisory services
to middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries. IBRD raises most of its
funds in the world's financial markets. It has 189 shareholder members.
IDA provides loans and advice to middle-income and credit-worthy poor countries
at concessional rates. It has 173 shareholder nations.
IFC established in 1956, provides various forms of financing without sovereign
guarantees, primarily to the private sector.
ICSID established in 1966, works with governments to reduce investment risk.
MIGA established in 1988, provides insurance against certain types of risk,
including political risk, primarily to the private sector.
The IMF was conceived at a UN conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire,
United States, in July 1944. The 44 countries at that conference sought to build a
framework for economic cooperation to avoid the Great Depression of the 1930s.
It is an organization of 189 countries, working to foster global monetary
cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high
employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the
world.
The IMF's primary purpose is to ensure the stability of the international monetary
system - The system of exchange rates and international payments that enables
countries (and their citizens) to transact with each other.
The Fund's mandate was updated in 2012 to include all macroeconomic and
financial sector issues that bear on global stability. Unlike development banks, the
IMF does not lend for specific projects.
The Board of Governors is advised by two ministerial committees, the International
Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) and the Development Committee.
IMF finances: Quota subscriptions are a central component of the IMF‘s financial
resources. Each member country of the IMF is assigned a quota, based broadly on
its relative position in the world economy.
Functions of IMF:
● Provides Financial Assistance: To provide financial assistance to member
countries with balance of payments problems, lends money to replenish
international reserves, stabilize currencies and strengthen conditions for economic
growth. Countries must embark on structural adjustment policies monitored by the
IMF.
● IMF Surveillance: It oversees the international monetary system and monitors the
economic and financial policies of its 189 member countries. As part of this process,
which takes place both at the global level and in individual countries, the IMF
highlights possible risks to stability and advises on needed policy adjustments.
● Capacity Development: It provides technical assistance and training to central
banks, finance ministries, tax authorities, and other economic institutions. This helps
countries raise public revenues, modernize banking systems, develop strong legal
frameworks, improve governance, and enhance the reporting of macroeconomic and
financial data.
● Kristalina Georgieva joined as MD from 1st Oct, 2019. Geeta Gopinath has joined
as Chief Economist.
ILO is the only tripartite U.N. agency, since 1919 the ILO brings together
governments, employers and workers of 187 member States , to set labour
standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all
women and men.
● It Was created in 1919 by the Versailles Peace Treaty ending World War I.
● After the demise of the League of Nations, the ILO became the first specialized
agency associated with the UN.
● Members: The organization has 187 of the 193 UN member states plus the Cook
Islands (a nation in the South Pacific, with political links to New Zealand).
● Its secretariat is in Geneva, Switzerland.
● In 1988, the international labour conference adopted the ―Declaration on
Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work‖.
● The declaration aims to eliminate all forms of forced or compulsory labour,
abolition of child labour and the elimination of discrimination in employment and
occupation.
● It publishes the Global Wage report.
● India is a founder member of the ILO.
The 8 Core Conventions of the ILO (also called fundamental/human rights
conventions) are:
1. Forced Labour Convention (No. 29)
2. Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (No.105)
3. Equal Remuneration Convention (No.100)
4. Discrimination (Employment Occupation) Convention (No.111)
5. Minimum Age Convention (No.138)
6. Worst forms of Child Labour Convention (No.182)
7. Freedom of Association and Protection of Right to Organised Convention
(No.87)
8. Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention (No.98) Conventions
87 & 98 have not been ratified by India.
India has ratified six out of the eight core/fundamental International Labour
Organisation (ILO) Conventions.
India has not ratified
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948
(No. 87) and
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).
It was established in 1945 with the objective of eliminating hunger and improving
nutrition and standards of living by increasing agricultural productivity.
Its secretariat is in Rome, Italy.
Some of the important key programmes of FAO are Food Security Programmes,
Codex Alimentarius, International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) etc.,
The Codex Alimentarius Commission established by FAO and WHO is an
international food standard setting body. With the adoption of codex standards,
spices have been included for the first time as commodities that will have universal
standards.
International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) - It aims to protect cultivated and
wild plants by preventing the introduction and spread of pests. Globefish -It is a unit
within the FAO, responsible for information and analysis on international fish trade
and markets. Globefish‟s flagship reports cover over 14 of the most major traded
seafood commodities, including shrimp, tuna, salmon, small pelagics and other
species with detailed statistics.
FAO council approved India‟s membership to the Executive Board of the World
Food Program (WFP) for 2020 and 2021.
The forerunner of UNESCO is said to be International Committee on Intellectual
Cooperation （ICIC） established in Geneva under the League of Nations in 1922.
ICIC was compromised of celebrated scholars, such as Albert Einstein （German-
born theoretical physicist）, Marie Curie （Polish-French physicist and chemist）
and so on. Inazo Nitobe, Japanese scholar and one of the Under-Secretaries General
of the League at that time, became a founding director of ICIC.
In 1926, the International Institute of Intellectual Cooperation （IIIC） was
established in Paris with financial aid from the French government to implement
plans and policies made by ICIC. IIIC was an active institution with activities in
variety of fields such as universities, libraries, intellectual property, arts, information
and media. However, these activities were suspended due to the outbreak of WW II.
Soon after WW II, in November 1945, a United Nations Conference for the
establishment of an educational and cultural organization was convened in London
with representatives from 44 countries. Initiated by France and the United Kingdom,
the delegates decided to create an organization that would embody a genuine culture
of peace. At the end of the conference, the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization was founded and the Constitution of UNESCO, signed on
16 November 1945, came into force on 4 November 1946.
UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organizationis responsible for promoting
peace, social justice, human rights and international security through International
cooperation on educational, science and cultural programs.
It has 195 member states and is based in Paris, France. It accorded recognition in
2011 to Palestine as its 195thmember.
It is a global development agency with missions that include promoting sex
education, literacy, clean water and equality for women. It is responsible for
promoting peace, social justice, human rights and international security through
International cooperation on educational, science and cultural programs.
It is known for its World Heritage Mission which encourages world countries to
protect Natural and Cultural Heritage sites.
It publishes theGlobal Education Monitoring report and Gender Parity Index. It
also leads the Man and Biosphere Programme for protecting Biosphere reserves
across the world.
UNESCO has also earlierdeclared a contested shrine in Hebron city as an
endangered Palestinian heritage site. U.S and Israel have formally quit the
UNESCO. Hyderabad has now been officially designated as a UNESCO Creative
City of Gastronomy and Mumbai in Film Category.
The OECD was established on Dec. 14, 1960, by 18 European nations plus the
United States and Canada.
OECD is a group of 36 member countries that discuss and develop economic and
social policy. OECD members are democratic countries that support free market
economies.
It has expanded over time to include members from South America and the Asia-
Pacific region. It includes most of the highly developed economies like Mexico,
Chile and Turkey.
It also works closely with non-members like China, India, Brazil and South Africa
through "Enhanced Engagement" programmes.
India recently became the signatory of the Multilateral Instrument (MLI). It is an
agreement put out by OECD to prevent base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). It
will help the crack down on abuse of bilateral tax treaties and treaty shopping.
In 2016, India and Switzerland had signed an information-sharing deal on bank
accounts, which was to come into effect from September 2019.
The G7, originally G8, was set up in 1975 as an informal forum bringing together
the leaders of the world‘s leading industrial nations.
The group includes the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada,
Japan, France and Italy.
It used to be known as the G8 (Group of Eight) until 2014 when annexation
from Ukraine followed a Russian military intervention in Crimea that took place in
the aftermath of the 2014. The Crimean Peninsula, north of the Black Sea in Europe,
was annexed by the Russian Federation between February and March 2014.
Together, the G7 countries represent 40% of global GDP and 10% of the world‘s
population.
The decisions taken at the G7 are not legally binding, but exert strong political
influence. The G7 does not have a formal constitution or a fixed headquarters.
G-7 has also invited non-member countries who are playing an important part in
world politics. The invited guest nations include India, Australia, Spain, South
Africa, Senegal and Rwanda.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental decision-making
body established in 1989 during the G7 Summit in Paris to develop policies against
money laundering.
The FATF Secretariat is located in Paris.
It has also started dealing with virtual currencies.
It has put Pakistan on a list of ―jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies‖, also known
as the ―grey list‖. The other countries on the list are Ethiopia, Serbia, Sri Lanka,
Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia and Yemen.
Consequences of being in the FATF grey list are
● Economic sanctions from IMF, World Bank, ADB
● Problem in getting loans from IMF, World Bank, ADB and other countries
● Reduction in international trade
● International boycott
The ―black list‖ refers to countries for who there has been a ―call to action‖ or strict
banking and international finance sanctions, a list which at present includes Iran and
North Korea.
G 20 was formed in 1999. It is an international forum of the governments and
central bank governors from 20 major economies, to tackle the problems or the
address issues that plague the world.
In addition to it, the group also hosts separate meetings of the finance ministers and
foreign ministers.
The first G20 Summit was held in Berlin in December 1999 and was hosted by the
finance ministers of Germany and Canada. From 2008 it is held every year.
Collectively, the G20 economies account for around 85 percent of the Gross World
Product (GWP), 80 percent of world trade.
The G20 has no permanent staff of its own and its chairmanship rotates annually
between nations divided into regional groupings.
Last summit was held in Osaka Japan in June, 2019. Next G20 meeting will be held
in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) in Nov 2020. Saudi Arabia is the first Arab nation to hold
the G20 presidency.
India will host the G20 Summit In 2022, when the country celebrates its 75th year
of Independence. It will be the first meet of the global grouping in India.
Objectives:
• The Group was formed with an aim of studying, reviewing, and promoting high-
level discussion of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international
financial stability.
• The forum aims to pre-empt balance of payments problems and turmoil on
financial markets by improved coordination of monetary, fiscal, and financial
policies.
• The forum seeks to address issues that go beyond the responsibilities of any one
organisation.
Member Countries:
• The members of the G20 consist of 19 individual countries plus the European
Union (EU).
• The 19 member countries of the forum are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada,
China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi
Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.
• The European Union is represented by the European Commission and by the
European Central Bank.
The G20 Leaders‘ virtual meeting has been organised following a telephone
conversation between PM Modi and Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The PM has also been in talks with the Australian Prime Minister.
At the meeting, G20 Leaders agreed to take all necessary measures to contain the
pandemic and protect people.
They also supported strengthening of the WHO's mandate in the fight against
pandemics, including delivery of medical supplies, diagnostic tools, treatments,
medicines and vaccines.

G 20 appreciated WHO initiative ―A Global Collaboration to Accelerate the

Development, Production and Equitable Access to New COVID-19 diagnostics,
therapeutics and vaccines‖
On 14 March 2018, the United States requested consultations with India concerning
certain alleged export subsidy measures. The United States claimed that the
measures appear to be inconsistent with Articles 3.1(a) and 3.2 of the WTO's
Agreement on Subsidies & Countervailing Measures (SCM).
India provides export subsidy schemes including the one for special economic
zones. The WTO has ruled that these export subsidy programmes violated
provisions of the trade body‘s norms. New Delhi is likely to appeal the ruling before
the organisation‘s Appellate Body, officials said.
―The dispute panel rejected India's claim that it was exempted from the prohibition
on export subsidies under the special and differential treatment provisions of the
WTO's Agreement on Subsidies & Countervailing Measures (SCM),‖ the panel said
in its ruling
It is a bank for central banks. HQ - Basel, Switzerland
The mission of the BIS is to serve central banks in their pursuit of monetary and
financial stability, to foster international cooperation in those areas and to act as a
bank for central banks.
The BIS has 60-member central banks, representing countries from around the
world that together make up about 95% of world GDP.
BRICS
BRICS is an informal group of states comprising the Federative Republic of Brazil,
the Russian Federation, the Republic of India, the People‘s Republic of China and
the Republic of South Africa.
BALTIC NATIONS
The three sovereign states in Northern Europe on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea:
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. These are informal intergovernmental and
parliamentary cooperation. The most important areas of cooperation between the
three countries are foreign and security policy, defence, energy and transportation.
All three countries are members of the European Union, NATO, the eurozone and
the OECD. All three are classified as high-income economies by the World Bank
and maintain a very high Human Development Index.
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic
Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization comprising seven Member
States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a
contiguous regional unity.
This sub-regional organization came into being on 6 June 1997 through the
Bangkok Declaration. It constitutes seven Member States: five deriving from South
Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and two from
Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand,
With the admission of Nepal and Bhutan at the 6th Ministerial Meeting (February
2004, Thailand), the name of the grouping was changed to ‗Bay of Bengal Initiative
for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation‘ (BIMSTEC).
The regional group constitutes a bridge between South and South East Asia and
represents a reinforcement of relations among these countries. BIMSTEC has also
established a platform for intra-regional cooperation between SAARC and ASEAN
members.
Permanent Secretariat was established in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 13th September
2014
At the fourth BRICS Summit in New Delhi (2012), the leaders of Brazil, Russia,
India, China and South Africa considered the possibility of setting up a new
Development Bank to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable
development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies, as well as in
developing countries.
During the sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza (2014), the leaders signed the
Agreement establishing the New Development Bank (NDB).
The inaugural meeting of the Board of Governors of the NDB was chaired by
Russia and held on the eve of the Ufa Summit on 7 July 2015, when the Bank
formally came into existence as a legal entity. During the meeting, the appointment
of the President, Mr. K.V. Kamath, as well as four Vice Presidents and the Board of
Directors took place.
At the signing of the Headquarters Agreement with the government of the People‘s
Republic of China and the Memorandum of Understanding with the Shanghai
Municipal People‘s Government on 27 February 2016, the NDB became fully
operational.
It was conceived in 1966 as a financial institution that would be Asian in character
and foster economic growth and cooperation in one of the poorest regions in the
world.
HQ - Manila, Philippines , ADB now has 67 members of which 48 from within Asia
and Pacific while remaining 19 from outside.
The bank admits member countries from Asian region and non-regional developed
countries. Some of the non-regional member countries are Austria, Belgium,
Canada, Denmark, United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany etc.
ADB assists its members, and partners, by providing loans, technical assistance,
grants, and equity investments to promote social and economic development.

ASIAN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT BANK

It is a multilateral financial institution which brings countries together to address
the daunting infrastructure needs across Asia.
HQ - Beijing, China.
The membership in AIIB is open to members of the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development or the Asian Development Bank.
It was set up after the fall of the Berlin wall to promote private and entrepreneurial
initiative in emerging Europe. It is HQ at London.
It is not to be confused with the European Investment Bank (EIB) which is owned
by EU member states and used to support EU policy.
EBRD is owned by 66 countries and two EU institutions i.e EU & EIB. US is the
biggest shareholder. Besides Europe, member countries of the EBRD are also from
other continents - North America (Canada and US), Africa (Morocco), Asia (Japan,
China, South Korea) and Australia.
EBRD's core operations pertain to private sector development in their countries of
operation.
The minimum initial investment towards the membership of EBRD will be
approximately one million Euros.
In 2017, the Union Cabinet has approved India's membership for EBRD and
shareholders of EBRD also voted for India‟s full membership.
The International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (EBRD) has signed a pact for cooperation on energy projects.
It is an Indian initiative, jointly launched by India and France in Paris, on 30th
November 2015, at the 21st session of United Nations Climate Change Conference
of the Parties (COP-21) in Paris. It is instituted to connect 121 solar-resource-rich
nations for research, low-cost financing and rapid deployment of clean energy.
Membership - The 121 prospective member countries (those falling between the
Tropics of Caner and Capricorn) of the ISA and are also the United Nations
member, can join the Alliance by signing and ratifying the Framework Agreement
or by acceptance or approval.
73 countries have so far signed the Framework Agreement and 50 have ratified it.
UN member countries which are located beyond the Tropics can join the ISA as
Partner Countries‖. UN including its organs can join the ISA as ―Strategic Partners‖.
HQ - India (Interim Secretariat - Gurgaon)
It aims to channel $300 billion in 10 years to promote renewable energy projects.
Global Solar Bank - ISA plans to setup global solar bank to finance $150 billion of
power projects. Delhi Solar Agenda was adopted in the assembly, under which ISA
member States have agreed to pursue an increased share of solar energy in the final
energy consumption in respective national energy mix.
WHO began when our Constitution came into force on 7 April 1948 – a date we
now celebrate every year as World Health Day. We are now more than 7000 people
from more than 150 countries working in 150 country offices, in 6 regional offices
and at our headquarters in Geneva
WHO works worldwide to promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the
vulnerable.
Our goal is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to
protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion
people with better health and well-being.
For universal health coverage, we:improve monitoring, data and information.
focus on primary health care to improve access to quality essential services
work towards sustainable financing and financial protection
improve access to essential medicines and health products
train the health workforce and advise on labour policies
support people's participation in national health policies
For health emergencies, we prepare for emergencies by identifying, mitigating and
managing risks and prevent emergencies and support development of tools
necessary during outbreaks, detect and respond to acute health emergencies.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was elected as WHO Director-General for a
five-year term by WHO Member States at the Seventieth World Health Assembly in
May 2017.
He is the first WHO Director-General to have been elected from multiple candidates
by the World Health Assembly, and is the first person from the WHO African
Region to serve as WHO's chief technical and administrative officer.
Immediately after taking office on 1 July 2017 Dr Tedros outlined five key priorities
for the Organization: universal health coverage (PM Ayushman Bharat Yojna) ;
health emergencies; women‘s, children‘s and adolescents‘ health; health impacts of
climate and environmental change; and a transformed WHO.
Prior to his election as WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros served as Ethiopia‘s
Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2012–2016. In this role he led efforts to negotiate
the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, in which 193 countries committed to the financing
necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The United States recently announced that it will stop its funding to WHO. The US
backed off accusing the organization being China-centric. China on the other hand,
donated 20 million USD in March and has now made an additional donation of 30
million USD.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent,
intergovernmental Organization, created at the Baghdad Conference on September
10–14, 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The five Founding
Members were later joined by:
Qatar (1961) – terminated its membership in January 2019;
Indonesia (1962) – suspended its membership in January 2009, reactivated it in
January 2016, but decided to suspend it again in November 2016;
Libya (1962);
United Arab Emirates (1967);
Algeria (1969);
Nigeria (1971);
Ecuador (1973) – suspended its membership in December 1992, reactivated it in
October 2007, but decided to withdraw its membership effective 1 January 2020;
Angola (2007);
Gabon (1975) - terminated its membership in January 1995 but rejoined in July
2016;
Equatorial Guinea (2017); and Congo (2018).
OPEC had its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in the first five years of its
existence. This was moved to Vienna, Austria, on September 1, 1965.
The global economy represented the main risk to the oil market as global
macroeconomic uncertainties and heightened risks. Escalating social unrest in many
parts of the world affects both supply and demand. The world‘s focus for a new UN-
led climate change agreement has also increased the tension for Oil producers.
OPEC's objective is to co-ordinate and unify petroleum policies among Member
Countries, in order to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers; an
efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations; and a fair
return on capital to those investing in the industry.
OPEC+ refers to the alliance of crude producers, who have been undertaking
corrections in supply in the oil markets since 2017. Currently, there are 21 sovereign
producing nations complying with the alliance's decisions, with Saudi Arabia
leading the 11 OPEC members party to the deal and 10 non-OPEC members led by
Russia.
In March 2020 a month-long oil price war between Russia and OPEC‘s leader and
largest producer, Saudi Arabia, combined with the crashing global demand in the
Corona pandemic to force lpow oil prices made U.S. oil producer uncomfortable. So
a new OPEC+ deal to cut 9.7 million bpd production in May and June. By April 28,
2020 Crude oil supply from OPEC members has soared by more than 2 million bpd.
The IEA was born with the 1973-1974 oil crisis, when industrialised countries found
they were not adequately equipped to deal with the oil embargo imposed by major
producers that pushed prices to historically high levels.
The IEA was established as the main international forum for energy co-operation on
a variety of issues such as security of supply, long-term policy, information
transparency, energy efficiency, sustainability, research and development,
technology collaboration, and international energy relations.
The IEA‘s collective emergency response system mechanism ensures a stabilizing
influence on markets and the global economy. It was activated three times since the
Agency‘s creation. The first was in January 1991, during the First Gulf War. The
second was in 2005, after the hurricanes Katrina and Rita damaged oil infrastructure
in the Gulf of Mexico. The third was in 2011, during the Libyan crisis.
The IEA is made up of 30 member countries and 8 association countries e.g. India.
A candidate country to the IEA must be a member country of the OECD having
Crude oil reserves equivalent to 90 days of the previous year‘s net imports that
could be used to address disruptions to global oil supply. It must have a demand
restraint programme to reduce national oil consumption by up to 10% and a
Legislation to operate the Co-ordinated Emergency Response Measures (CERM).
It is an international organization founded ON 25th Sep, 1969, during historical
summit which took place in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, consisting of 57 member
states. Its administrative centre is located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Turkey currently
holds the chairmanship of the organization.

The organisation works to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in
the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony.

India is not a member of the OIC. However, India was invited as a guest of honour
at 46th Session of the Council of Foreign Minister in 2019. 2019 is the 50th
anniversary of OIC.

The Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has criticised the Government of
India over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, and the Babri Masjid verdict of
the Supreme Court..
The IAEA is the world‘s centre for cooperation in the nuclear field, established as an
autonomous organization in 1957 through its own international treaty, the IAEA
Statute.
It seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any
military purpose, including nuclear weapons.
IAEA reports to both the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council.
The IAEA has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
The IAEA and its former Director General, Mohamed ElBaradei, were jointly
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on 7 October 2005.
IAEA safeguards: The objective of IAEA Safeguards is to deter the spread of
nuclear weapons by the early detection of the misuse of nuclear material or
technology.
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is the centrepiece of
global efforts to prevent the further spread of nuclear weapons. Under the Treaty‘s
Article 3, each Non-Nuclear Weapon State is required to conclude a safeguards
agreement with the IAEA.
The quadrilateral formation includes Japan, India, United States and Australia.
All four nations find a common ground of being the democratic nations and
common interests of unhindered maritime trade and security.
The idea was first mooted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007.
However, the idea couldn‘t move ahead with Australia pulling out of it.
It was revived in 2017 and is being viewed as response to increased Chinese
economic and military power.
Quad is an opportunity for like-minded countries to share notes and collaborate on
projects of mutual interest. Members share a vision of an open and free Indo-Pacific.
It is the leading intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation, coordination and
interaction among the Arctic States,
The Ottawa Declaration lists the following countries as Members of the Arctic
Council - Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian
Federation, Sweden and the United States.
Observers primarily contribute through their engagement in the Council at the level
of Working Groups. Observers - China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South
Korea, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland and UK
India is one of the very few countries to set up a permanent station in the Arctic for
the purposes of scientific research. The station has been used to carry out a variety
of biological, glaciological and atmospheric and climate sciences research projects
in the last decade. The Himadri research station, located in Ny Alesund, Svalbard in
Norway, about 1200 km south of the North Pole, was started in July 2008.
Antarctica is the geographic South Pole and is situated in the Antarctic region of the
Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic is a
polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth.
The UK stopped being a member of the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31
January 2020.
Brexit - British exit - refers to the UK leaving the EU.
A public vote (known as a referendum) was held in June 2016, which gave the
Leave side 52%, compared with 48% for Remain.
The process of leaving the EU formally began on March 29, 2017, when U.K.
triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.
While the UK has agreed the terms of its EU departure, both sides still need to
decide what their future relationship will look like.
The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) is an initiative by six countries – India and
five ASEAN countries, namely, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and
Vietnam for cooperation in tourism, culture, education, as well as transport and
communications.
It was launched in 2000 at Vientiane, Lao PDR. Both the Ganga and the Mekong
are civilizational rivers, and the MGC initiative aims to facilitate closer contacts
among the people inhabiting these two major river basins.
Significant of Mekong Ganga Cooperation for India?
● Development of North East Region if trade and industry flourish in the entire
region overland trade via Myanmar to many MGC countries.
● Balancing China‘s assertiveness in the region. China‘s dominance can be seen in
controlling the waters of the Mekong river upstream.
● The Mekong region is very important for India's 'Act East Policy' for
strengthening its economic integration with Southeast and East-Asian countries.
Budapest Convention on cybercrime provides for the criminalisation of conduct,
ranging from illegal access, data and systems interference to computer-related fraud
and child pornography.
Russia has opposed the Budapest Convention, arguing that giving investigators
access to computer data across borders violates national sovereignty
The United Nations approved a Russian-led bid that aims to create a new convention
on cybercrime, alarming rights groups and Western powers that fear a bid to restrict
online freedom.
India's concern:
The Budapest Convention allows for transborder access to data and thus infringes
on national sovereignty. It is a criminal justice treaty and thus does not cover state
actors as criminals such as terrorist state.
The proposal, which India voted in favour of, creates a committee to convene in
August 2020 in New York to establish a new treaty through which nation-states can
coordinate and share data to prevent cybercrime.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is non profit
organisaation located in New York that manages internet domain names.
The NPT is a multilateral treaty aimed at limiting the spread of nuclear weapons
including three elements: (1) non-proliferation, (2) disarmament, and (3) peaceful
use of nuclear energy.
The treaty was signed in 1968 and entered into force in 1970. As of August 2016,
191 states have adhered to the treaty.
Four states—India, Israel, Pakistan, and South Sudan— have never signed the
treaty. Though North Korea, acceded in 1985 but never came into compliance,
announced its withdrawal from the NPT in 2003.
The five nuclear weapon states are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and
the United States Role of states:
Nuclear weapon states are not to transfer to any recipient whatsoever nuclear
weapons and not to assist, encourage, or induce any NNWS to manufacture or
otherwise acquire them.
Non-nuclear weapons states are not to receive nuclear weapons and must accept the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards on all nuclear materials on
their territories or under their control.
It is a voluntary, non-legally binding export control regime. Originally called
―London Club‖, it was founded in response to the Indian nuclear test in 1974.

It is a group of nuclear supplier countries that seeks to contribute to the non-

proliferation of nuclear weapons

It has 48 members with European Commission and the Chair of Zangger Committee
as observers.

After India U.S Civil Nuclear Agreement in 2005, India has been trying to become a
member. But its membership has been blocked by China.
It is a subsidiary organ of UN General Assembly, created in 1978, composed of all
UN member states and reports annually to General Assembly.
Its mandate is to prepare proposals for a treaty for the regulation, limitation and
balanced reduction of all armed forces and all armaments, including the elimination
of all weapons of mass destruction.
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) between the United States
of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their
Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, It was signed on 8th December,
1987.
Under the INF Treaty, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. agreed to eliminate within three
years all ground-launched-missiles of 500-5,500 km range and not to develop,
produce or deploy these in future.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on 20 October 2018 that he was
withdrawing the U.S. from the treaty, accusing Russia of non-compliance.
The U.S. formally suspended the treaty on 1 February 2019, and Russia did so on
the following day in response to the U.S. withdrawal.
The US formally withdrew from the treaty on 2 August 2019.
START I (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was a bilateral treaty between the
United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) on
the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms.
The treaty was signed on 31 July 1991 and entered into force on 5 December 1994.
New START replaced the Treaty of Moscow (SORT). Under terms of the treaty, the
number of strategic nuclear missile launchers will be reduced by half. It was signed
on 8 April 2010 in Prague and after ratification entered into force on 5 February
2011. This treaty is formally known as Measures for the Further Reduction and
Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms.
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a multilateral treaty that
bans all nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all
environments. The Treaty was negotiated at the Conference on Disarmament in
Geneva and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. It opened for
signature on 24 September 1996.
China, Egypt, Iran, Israel and the United States have signed but not ratified the
Treaty. India, North Korea & Pakistan have not signed it. They have neither signed
the Non Proliferation Treaty 1968.
166 states have ratified the CTBT and 17 states have signed but not ratified it.
The executive secretary of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization
(CTBTO) has offered India an ‗Observer‘ status and access to state-of-art
International Monitoring System (IMS) data.
CTBTO runs the International Monitoring System (IMS) that constantly monitors
the planet for nuclear explosions and shares findings with its member states. At
present, IMS has 337 facilities, located in 89 countries.
India will gain a lot with data necessary for earthquake monitoring and following
the radioisotope dispersion.
African Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty, also known as the Treaty of Pelindaba,
was signed by 47 of the continent‘s 53 states, and prohibits states from conducting
research on, developing, manufacturing, stockpiling, acquiring, possessing, or
having control over any nuclear explosive device by any means anywhere.
It was opened for signatures on 11th April, 1996 and came into force on 15th July
2009.
The treaty does not prohibit peaceful nuclear activities but states are obligated to
undergo verification by the IAEA.
South Sudan is not a signatory to this treaty.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), or the Nuclear Weapon
Ban Treaty, is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively
prohibit nuclear weapons, with the goal of leading towards their total elimination. It
was passed on 7 July 2017.
In order to come into effect, signature and ratification by at least 50 countries is
required. As of 23 March 2020, 36 states have ratified the treaty.
India abstained from voting by maintaining that Geneva-based Conference on
Disarmament‟-(CD) as the single multilateral disarmament negotiation forum & it is
not convinced of the potential of the current treaty to address the disarmament issue.
India-US Civil Nuclear Deal 2005 recognised India as a nuclear weapons power.

It emphasised on non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Even though India did not officially join NPT, this agreement afforded the same
benefits as other leading nuclear powers like civilian space programmes, high
technology trade, and missile defence.

It included separation of civilian and military nuclear facilities and brining civilian
nuclear facilities under the IAEA safeguards.
In early 1984, a United Nations investigation team found that Iraq had used
chemical weapons (CW) in the Iran-Iraq war in violation of the 1925 Geneva
Protocol, and that at least some of the precursor chemicals and materials for its CW
program had been sourced through legitimate trade channels. In response, several
countries introduced export controls on certain chemicals that could be used to
manufacture CW.
These controls suffered from a lack of uniformity, and it soon became apparent that
attempts were being made to circumvent them.
This led Australia to propose a meeting of the countries with export controls with
the aim of harmonising their national licensing measures and enhancing
cooperation. At that meeting, the 15 participating countries and the European
Commission agreed that there was value in exploring how existing export controls
might be made more effective to prevent the spread of CW.
The number of countries participating in the Australia Group has grown from 15 in
1985 to 42 plus the European Union.
All states participating in the Australia Group are parties to the Chemical Weapons
Convention (CWC) and the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), and strongly
support efforts under those Conventions to rid the world of CBW.
It was established in 1987 by Japan. It aims to limit the spread of ballistic missiles
and other unmanned delivery systems that could be used for chemical, biological,
and nuclear attacks.
It has 35 members, which include most of the world's key missile manufacturers,
including India.
It seeks to restrict the exports of missiles and related technologies of any type of
weapon of mass destruction.
The Wassenaar Arrangement has been established in order to contribute to regional
and international security and stability, by promoting transparency and greater
responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and
technologies, thus preventing destabilising accumulations. The aim is also to prevent
the acquisition of these items by terrorists.
Participating States seek, through their national policies, to ensure that transfers of
these items do not contribute to the development or enhancement of military
capabilities which undermine these goals, and are not diverted to support such
capabilities.
It came into being in 1996. It has 42 members and with the exception of China, all
the other permanent UNSC members are signatories.
India has been admitted as the 42nd member, which will strengthen India‟s
credentials as a responsible nuclear power.
Toxic chemicals had been used as tools of war for thousands of years such as
poisoned arrows, arsenic smoke, or noxious fumes.
The Strasbourg Agreement is the first international agreement limiting the use of
chemical weapons dates back to 1675, when France and Germany came to an
agreement, signed in Strasbourg, prohibiting the use of poison bullets.
in 1874, the next agreement of this sort was concluded: the Brussels Convention
that prohibited the employment of poison or poisoned weapons, and the use of arms,
projectiles or material to cause unnecessary suffering, although the agreement never
entered into force.
In 1899 Hague Convention declared to ‗abstain from the use of projectiles, the sole
object of which is the diffusion of asphyxiating or deleterious gases‘. A second
Hague Convention, in 1907, reiterated bans on employing poisoned weapons.
The 1925 Geneva Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use of Asphyxiating,
Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, bans the use
of chemical and bacteriological (biological) weapons in war.
In 1968, discussions on biological and chemical weapons started at the
Disarmament Conference in Geneva.
The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) was concluded in 1972, although it
lacked verification measures.
In 1980, the Conference on Disarmament established an ad hoc working group on
chemical weapons.
The improvement in superpower relations in the late 1980s, the chemical attack on
Halabja, Iraq in 1988, publicity given to the threat of chemical warfare during the
Gulf War, and the announcement of a bilateral United States–Soviet Union
agreement to destroy most of their CW stockpiles and to refrain from further CW
production all gave impetus to the Convention negotiations.
In 1992, a draft Convention was formally adopted by the Conference on
Disarmament. It opened or signature on 13 January 1993 in Paris.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is the
implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, which entered into force
on 29 April 1997. The OPCW, with its 193 Member States, oversees the global
endeavour to permanently and verifiably eliminate chemical weapons.
CWC is the world‘s first multilateral disarmament agreement to provide for the
elimination of weapons of mass destruction within a fixed time frame.
It aims to eliminate an entire category of weapons of mass destruction by
prohibiting the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer
or use of chemical weapons by States Parties.
The event marked both the culmination of many years of painstaking negotiations in
the Conference on Disarmament and Preparatory Commission as well as the birth of
an international chemical weapons disarmament regime headed by the Organisation
for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
The OPCW strives to fulfil the Convention‘s mandate to end the development,
production, stockpiling, transfer and use of chemical weapons; to prevent their re-
emergence; to ensure the elimination of existing stocks of such weapons; and, in so
doing, to make the world safe from the threat of chemical warfare.
Israel has signed but not ratified the agreement.
Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan have neither signed nor acceded to the treaty.
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
received the Nobel Peace Prize 2013.
The International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation, also
known as the Hague Code of Conduct (HCOC), was established on 25 November
2002 as an arrangement to prevent the proliferation of ballistic missiles.
It is the only normative instrument to verify the spread of ballistic missiles. The
HCOC does not ban ballistic missiles, but it does call for restraint in their
production, testing, and export.
India joined the HCOC in 2016. While MTCR has a similar mission, it is just an
export group with only 35 members.