Law Commons^™

Security Council Resolutions And The Double Function Of Explanation Of Votes, Mark Klamberg

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

UN Security Council resolutions are not always clear: they sometimes need to be interpreted. Members of the Security Council may make statements in connection with their votes, termed explanation of votes. Explanation of votes may have at least two functions. First, they may contribute to the formation of customary international law. Secondly, they can be used as a means for interpreting Security Council resolutions in relation to a specific situation or dispute. The present Article examines different trajectories of conversations to show how Security Council resolutions and explanation of votes may protect the status quo in some instances and act …

Unaccountable? The United Nations, Emergency Powers, And The Rule Of Law, Simon Chesterman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

For a body committed to the rule of law in theory, the applicability of the rule of law to the United Nations in practice remains oddly unclear. This Article will not consider the personal responsibility of UN officials, who generally enjoy personal or functional immunity from legal process in the territories where they work. Rather the focus of this Article is on the quasi-constitutional question of the liability of the organization itself. As the United Nations has assumed more state-like functions-in particular through the coercive activities of its Security Council--the question of what limits exist on the powers thus exercised …

The United Nations International Conference On Population And Development: Religion, Tradition, And Law In Latin America, Gregory M. Saylin

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

At the 1994 United Nations International Conference on Population and Development, the Vatican, along with several Latin American and Muslim nations, fought against First World nations that sought to include provisions relating to abortion, contraception, sexual education, and women's issues in the Conference's Program of Action. Universal agreement was not reached and several nations, including the Vatican, refused to completely join the Program of Action.

This Note examines the history and theory behind the United Nations population conferences. Against this background, the author examines the 1994 Conference and considers its effect on Latin America by discussing the religion, tradition, and …

Toward A Consultative Relationship Between The United Nations And Non-Governmental Organizations?, Michael M. Gunter

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

What do consultative relationships entail? What has been the impact on United Nations policies? What has gone wrong? Why has the consultative relationship failed to live up to expectations? What are the chances for ameliorating the present malaise and moving towards a new, reinvigorated consultative relationship? This article will address these questions now being raised in the current discussions about revitalizing ECOSOC.

A Retrospective Analysis Of United Nations Activity In The Congo And Its Significance For Contemporary Africa, Agola Auma-Osolo

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

U Thant's decision to take action against Katanga's secession--a decision that was welcomed by most African countries--must have been motivated, at least in part, by his Third World sympathies as well as his views as to the significance of chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. It was his positive attitude toward the Afro-Asian bloc, of which his own country is a member, that determined the decision U Thant made. Had U Thant been from the West, it is more likely that his decision would not have deviated from that of Hammarskjold...

With these experiences, it is therefore hoped that …