University of Lucknow

Faculty of Law
LL.B. (Hons.)

Public International Law II (Assignment)

Topic: Preamble, Purposes and Principles of
UN Charter
Submitted to: Dr. Sushil Kumar Sir
Submitted by: Vanshika Gaur
Roll Number: 2110013015172
Semester: VI
Section: A
Serial Number: 70

1
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Acknowledgment is the most beautiful page in any project. More than a formality, this appears
to me as the best opportunity to the best opportunity to express my gratitude.
My list can never begin without you dear God. I thank you again and again for always being
and for providing me with all the necessary goods and strength to finish the project.
The success and final outcome of this assignment required a lot of guidance and assistance
from many people and I am incredibly fortunate to have gotten this all. I want to express my
respect and sincere gratitude to my professor for giving me the opportunity to work on this
assignment. I am thankful for his guidance and able stewardship which helped me to understand
the concept of the assignment better and complete it successfully.
I would also like to thank my friends and family who have supported me throughout this
assignment. Their encouragement gave me the confidence to pursue the task ahead. I am also
grateful to my classmates for the discussions we had which enabled me to take the right
approach to my assignment.
I would also like to thank the library staff for providing me with the required books that were
necessary for my research. Their assistance enabled me to gather the relevant data and
information for my assignment.
Finally, I would like to thank the internet for providing me with the necessary resources and
tools that helped me to write this assignment. It was an invaluable source of information for
my research. I learned many new things while searching various online and offline materials
related to this assignment topic. I am grateful to all of them for their help in completing this
assignment.
Thank you
Vanshika Gaur
LL.B (Hons.), Semester VI

2
 Preamble, Purposes and Principles of UN
Charter
Contents
PREAMBLE OF UN CHARTER .............................................................................................. 4
PURPOSES OF THE UN CHARTER ....................................................................................... 5
(1) To Maintain International Peace and Security: ................................................................ 5
(2) To Develop Friendly Relations among Nations: .............................................................. 5
Self-Determination :........................................................................................................... 6
(3) To Achieve International Co-operation : .......................................................................... 6
(4) To Make the United Nations an International Forum for Harmonisation : ...................... 7
PRINCIPLES OF THE UN CHARTER .................................................................................... 7
(1) The Principle of Sovereign Equality.- .............................................................................. 7
(2) The Principle of the Fulfilment of Obligations.- .............................................................. 7
(3) The Principle of Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes. ..................................... 8
(4) The Principle of Non-Use of Force. ................................................................................. 8
(5) The Principle of Assistance to the United Nations.- ........................................................ 8
(6) The Principle for the Non-Member States. – ................................................................... 8
(7) Principle of Non-intervention in Domestic Matters of State............................................ 9
Supremacy of the Obligations :............................................................................................ 10

3
 PREAMBLE OF UN CHARTER
The preamble of the United Nations is preceded by the words 'Charter of the United Nations'.
It indicated the title of that legal instrument and the name of the Organisation constituted by it.
The Charter is a multilateral treaty, albeit a treaty having certain special characteristics. The
term 'Charter' was regarded more appropriate designation of the Constitution of the
international community than the Covenant, the name given to the Statute of the League of
Nations. The term 'Charter' refers to the contents of the Treaty whereas the term Covenant
refers to the contract form of the contents.

The Preamble of the U.N. Charter has set forth the basic aims of the United Nations which are:

(a) to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war;

(b) to re-affirm faith in fundamental human rights;

(c) to establish justice and respect for international obligations; and

(d) to promote social progress and better standard of life.

The Preamble also affirms that in order to achieve these ends, the peoples of the United Nations
are determined to practice tolerance, to live in peace as good neighbours, to unite to maintain
peace and security, to ensure that armed forces shall not be used except in the common interest,
and to employ international machinery for the social and economic betterment of all peoples.

The United Nations Organisation is not a super national organisation like a federal government.
That has never been the case and can never be as long as States continue to cling to the undiluted
concept of national sovereignty. The reality is that the U.N. is an association of independent
States and can only de what its members are prepared to have it do. It is an organisation for co-
operation among States voluntarily created by them to achieve certain common ends by their
united strength. The Charter is primarily a multilateral Treaty and its binding force is based on
the consent of States and can only do what its members are prepared to have it do. It is an
organisation for co-operation among States voluntarily created by them to achieve certain
common ends by their united strength. However, the Preamble does not use the expression
High Contracting Parties' which is usually inserted in international treaties. Instead, the
Preamble refers the expression 'We the people of the United Nations' like the Constitution of
the United States and of the Netherlands. The Preamble also lays down that the Governments
of these people have agreed to the present Charter. It is significant to note that the phrase 'the
peoples of the United Nations' was inserted to indicate that the United Nations was an
4
organisation of the people, but since all the people cannot participate in its conferences or
meetings, therefore they are represented by their governments. Moreover, by inserting this
phrase, the United Nations gave more importance to the people than to the States. However,
the wording appears to be defective because governments are not always the representatives of
the peoples. They are the representatives of the States, and therefore, the United Nations is not
an organisation of the people but of the States. The drafters of the Charter thus have failed to
make the United Nations as an Organisation of the people, which they had perhaps desired.

PURPOSES OF THE UN CHARTER

The purposes for which the United Nations was established are laid down in Article I of the
Charter. They are as follows:-

(1) To Maintain International Peace and Security:

The urgent and fundamental need at the time of the creation of the United Nations was the
freedom from war and from fear of war, and therefore, Article I, Para 1 of the Charter provided
that the primary purpose of the United Nations shall be 'to maintain international peace and
security', and to take effective collective measures.......for the suppression of.......breaches of
the peace. In order to achieve the above purpose, the Organisation shall prevent or remove
threat to the peace, breach of the peace or acts of aggression by taking effective collective
measures. This very purpose of the United Nations has been characterised by Kelsen as 'World
Peace', because the action taken by it is not confined to the relations among the member States
only. This very purpose of the United Nations is fulfilled primarily by the Security Council.
The primary responsibility has been conferred upon to the Council by the members in order to
ensure 'prompt and effective action' and therefore, they agreed that in carrying out the duties
under this responsibility the Security Council acts on their behalf. In discharging these duties
the Council is required to act in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United
Nations.

(2) To Develop Friendly Relations among Nations:

In order to prevent clashes between nations, it was thought essential to develop friendship
among nations, i.e., friendship based on respect for the principles of the equal rights and the
equal rights of self-determination of peoples. This task and the taking of other measures to
strengthen universal peace has therefore been made a purpose of the United Nations.

5
 Self-Determination :
At the end of the World War II, almost one quarter of the world's population-more than 750
million people lived in dependent territories. In order to liberate them, it was thought necessary
that on the one hand new rules and principles capable of facilitating the liberation of the
oppressed people should be framed, and on the other hand, reactionary and colonist rules of
International Law should be abolished. When the United Nations was established, the principle
of self-determination was invoked within it to end colonialism. The Charter under Article 1,
Para 2 laid down that to develop friendly relations among nations based on the principle of
equal rights and self-determination of peoples.......shall be one of its purposes. Article 55 of the
Charter reiterated the same principle. The notion of self-determination has also been
incorporated in Chapter XI of the U.N. Charter which deals with Declaration regarding Non-
self-governing Territories and in Chapter XII which deals with International Trusteeship
System. The principle was later on reaffirmed in a number of resolutions adopted by the
General Assembly. The most important amongst them is the Declaration on the Granting of
Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, adopted on December 14, 1960. The
International Court of Justice in the case concerning East Timor (Portugal v. Australia) has also
observed that the principle of self-determination of peoples has been recognized by the United
Nations Charter and in the jurisprudence of the Court; it is one of the essential principles of
contemporary international law.

Although self-determination has been recognised as an established principle of International

Law, meaning of the term has not been made clear neither in the Charter nor in the resolution
adopted by the General Assembly. Article 1, Para 2 of the Charter uses the term 'self-
determination of peoples' which may mean self-determination for one of the elements of the
State, i.e., the population and not of the State. But precisely it is not so. Article 1, Para 2 refers
to the relations among States, and therefore the term 'peoples' too means States since only States
have equal rights according to general International Law. Self-determination of peoples used
in Article 1, Para 2 means only sovereignty

(3) To Achieve International Co-operation :

Article 1, Para 3 of the Charter lays down two purposes of the United Nations which are closely
related to each other. Firstly, to achieve 'international co-operation' in solving international
problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character, and secondly, international
co-operation in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights, and for fundamental
freedoms for all without distinction to race, sex, language or religion.

6
(4) To Make the United Nations an International Forum for Harmonisation :
The fourth purpose of the United Nations was laid down under Article 1, Para 4 of the Charter.
It says that the United Nations, being the principal World Organisation shall serve as a 'center
for harmonizing the actions of nations' in order to achieve these common ends.

These four purposes are, in the words of a Committee of the San Francisco Conference, 'the
cause and object of the Charter to which the member States. collectively and severally
subscribe'. It is submitted that while there are certain repetitions in the Preamble and the
purposes of the United Nations expressed in different languages at both places, some ideas
proclaimed in the Preamble do not find a place in any part of the Charter such as 'equal rights
of men and women' and 'dignity and worth of the human person' and 'to practice tolerance".
Repetition occurred perhaps because it was difficult to draw a sharp and clear-cut distinction
between the Preamble, and the purposes of the United Nations.

PRINCIPLES OF THE UN CHARTER

Having set forth the agreed purposes, the Charter laid down the basic principles under Article
2 on which the Organisation is founded. These principles are the general obligations which
bind each member State and the Organisation as a whole. They are as follows:-

(1) The Principle of Sovereign Equality.-

Article 2, Para I of the Charter lays down that the United Nations is based on the 'sovereign
equality of all its members'. It implies that all the members of the United Nations are equal
irrespective of their size and resources. It may be noted that the principle of sovereign equality
is a principle of International Law which the Charter has simply reaffirmed. However, in
practice, the principle is not applied absolutely in all the cases. In many cases, the five
permanent members of the Security Council have been given special powers wherein they may
exercise the right of veto at the time of voting in the Security Council. The right of veto is so
vital that a decision cannot be made in spite of voting on it by all the other members. However,
this privileged status has been given to them with the consent of all the members, and therefore,
it was a sort of compromise between them and other States.

(2) The Principle of the Fulfilment of Obligations.-

Article 2, Para 2 of the Charter lays down that all members of the United Nations shall fulfil in
good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the Charter. This is also a basic
principle of International Law which is known as pacta sunt servanda.

7
(3) The Principle of Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes.
Article 2, Para 3 of the Charter provides that 'all Members shall settle their international
disputes by peaceful means and in such a manner that international peace and security, and
justice, are not endangered."

(4) The Principle of Non-Use of Force.

The Charter under Article 2, Para 4 stipulates that all members shall refrain in their international
relations from the use of force or threat of force against the territorial integrity or political
independence of any State, or in any other manner not consistent with the purposes of the
United Nations. It is to be noted that the expression 'use of force' as laid down under Para 4 of
Article 2 is wider in scope than the expression 'use of armed force'. The former prohibits the
use of force of all types, i.e., the armed force as well as other coercive, economic and political
measures. The principle therefore lays down that the use of force of all types is unlawful as it
constitutes the breach of the principles of the United Nations of 'political independence' and
'territorial integrity'. The principle of non-use of force is related mainly with one of the purposes
of the United Nations, ie., to maintain international peace and security. It was thought that if
the use of force or threat thereof by the States in their international relations shall be prohibited,
international peace shall be maintained effectively because use of force or threat thereof by a
State is likely to lead to armed conflict, and in that case, 'international peace' is virtually
threatened. The principle is therefore so important that jurists have referred to it as a Universal
Norm', a Universal International Law', a 'universally recognized principle of International Law'
and a 'principle of jus cogens'.

(5) The Principle of Assistance to the United Nations.-

Article 2, Para 5 of the Charter lays down two ways by which a State may assist the United
Nations. Firstly, no member shall assist any State against which the United Nations is taking
'preventive and enforcement action', and secondly, all the members shall support the
Organisation 'in any action' that it takes in accordance with the Charter.

(6) The Principle for the Non-Member States. –

Article 2, Para 6 of the Charter lays down that the obligations which are to be carried on by the
non-members of the United Nations by stating that 'the Organisation shall ensure that States
which are not Members of the United Nations act in accordance with these Principles so far as
may be necessary to maintain international peace and security'. Thus, the purpose of the United

8
Nations to maintain peace and security is not restricted to the relations among member States
only.

(7) Principle of Non-intervention in Domestic Matters of State.

Article 2, Para 7 of the Charter lays down that the United Nations shall not intervene in matters
which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any State, or compel any member to
submit such matters to settlement by the United Nations. However, this general principle shall
not prejudice the application of enforcement measures as provided under Chapter VII of the
Charter. The principle of non- intervention in the domestic jurisdiction of a State is not a new
one. League of Nations under Article 15(8) had also laid down that the Council shall not make
any recommendation on such matters which are 'solely within the domestic jurisdiction of that
party'. The same principle has been reaffirmed in the Charter. A question arises as to what are
the matters which may be deemed as 'domestic'. It may be stated that a matter is essentially of
domestic concern if it is incapable by its very nature of assuming an international complexion.
In other words, if a matter is not likely to have international repercussion, or if it does not affect
international peace and security, or if it is not a subject of the U.N. Charter, it may be regarded
as domestic matter. However, the organs of the United Nations have certainly not been very
consistent or clear as to what they regard as matters essentially within the domestic jurisdiction
of a State. It appears that they have accepted the opinion of the Permanent Court of
International Justice given in the Tunis Morocco Nationality Decree case that the question
whether a certain matter is domestic or not is essentially relative, and depends upon the
development of international relations. It is to be noted that in the modern age of inter-
dependence, many matters which on the face are essentially domestic have, in fact, become
international and, therefore, no clear cut demarcation can be made between domestic matters
and other matters. Perhaps because of this reason the matter is decided by the organs of the
United Nations themselves where the question is raised after discussion and vote. Thus a civil
war or any other situation which may take place within a State may be interpreted by the
competent organs of the United Nations as a threat to international peace and security, and
consequently, even in such cases, intervention on the part of the Organisation would not be
prohibited according to the express provision of Article 2, Para 7. It is submitted that this
discretionary power of the organs of the United Nations should be taken away otherwise
occasions may arise where an internal matter may acquire international status, and thus the
restriction implied in the term international peace would become of least importance.

9
Supremacy of the Obligations :
It is to be noted that all members are under an obligation to act in accordance with the purposes
and principles of the Charter. The obligation may be regarded as supreme obligations in the
sense that they override all other obligations which are contradictory to them whether accepted
by the members either before or after the establishment of the Organisation. The principles laid
down in the Charter thus acquire the status of jus cogens. The Charter makes a specific mention
of the supremacy of the obligations under Article 103 which lays down that 'In the event of a
conflict between the obligations of the Members of the United Nations under the present
Charter and their obligations under any other international agreement, their obligations under
the present Charter shall prevail.

In the case concerning Questions of Interpretation and Application of the 1971 Montreal
Convention arising from the Aerial Incident at Lockerbie (Libya Arab Jamahiviya v. United
States of America) wherein Libya requested to the Court for the indication of provisional
measures on March 3, 1992 on the ground that it has fully complied with all the obligations
under the Montreal Convention. Later, the Security Council on March 31, 1992 by adopting
Resolution-748 (1992) imposed trade embargo against Libya for not co-operating in
renunciating the terrorism. The Court observed that Libya is obliged to accept and carry out
the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with Article 25 of the Charter In accordance
with Article 103 of the Charter the obligation of the parties in that respect prevail over their
obligations under any other international agreement, including the Montreal Convention.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
• INTERNATIONAL LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS 23 EDITION BY
H.O.AGARWAL
• DR S.K. KAPOOR'S INTERNATIONAL LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS
PUBLISHED BY CENTRAL LAW AGENCY 22ND EDITION – 2021
• https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/purposes-and-principles-un-chapter-i-un-
charter
• https://blog.ipleaders.in/un-objectives/
• https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/full-
text#:~:text=To%20achieve%20international%20co%2Doperation,%2C%20language
%2C%20or%20religion%3B%20and

10