SDG 16: GLOBAL

GOVERNANCE &
JUSTICE
INSTITUTIONS

MARLOU JADE L. ELIAB

Faculty, Holy Cross of Davao College
Faculty, San Pedro College
Davao City, Philippines
E-mail: spc.mjeliab@gmail.com
Contact: +639672495049
Objectives
1. Learn about the concept of Global Interstate System, its dynamics,
relevance, and use.
2. Equip knowledge on the importance and objectives of world
government;
3. Understand the commitments of the member-states in the
international community;
4. Realize the significance of the UN on the political issues involving
the government of the member-states.
 The United Nations: Historical
Antecedents
The UN emerged out of the travail of WWII as a symbol of
man’s undismayed determination to establish for all nations
a rule of law that would forever banish the terrible
arbitrament of war in solution of international disputes. The
UN was envisioned as the answer to the universal yearning
for peace and friendship among all peoples regardless of
color or creed.
Historical Development
• The League of Nations. It was only WWI that the first concrete step in this direction was
taken with the organization of the League of Nations but certain inherent weakness of the
body, coupled with the fact that US was not a member thereof which was shattered in 1939
and formally dissolved in 1946.
• June 12, 1941 – London Declaration by several members of British Commonwealth and a
number of governments-exile, to work together and with other peoples, in war and in peace
toward economic and social progress.
• August 14, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill signed
the Atlantic Charter which expressed their hope for a peace which will afford to all nations
the means of dwelling in safety within their own boundaries and which will afford assurance
that all men in all lands may lead out their lives in freedom from fear and want.
Historical Development
• January 1, 1942 – Declaration by United Nations signed by 26 countries and the
signatories all pledged to employ their full resources against the Axis Powers and
not to make a separate armistice or peace with the enemies.
• October 30, 1943, the first formal step to creation of UN was the Moscow
Declaration signed by China, Soviet Union, UK and US where they recognized the
necessity of establishing at the earliest practicable date a general international
organization based on the sovereign equality of all peace-loving states and open to
membership by all such states, large or small, for maintenance of international
peace and security.
Historical Development
• Dumbarton Oaks Proposals – where the blueprint of UN was initially drafted in a
conference in Washington. It was here that the Security Council was conceived as
the key body of the UN.
• San Francisco Conference – on basis of the previous agreements from April 25 to
June 26, 1945, 50 nations met and prepared and unanimously approved the Charter
of the United Nations which came into force in October 24, 1945 with the filing of
instruments of ratification by the members of the Big 5 and a majority of other
signatories.

From that onset, resulted the United Nations which is a body possessed of not only
juridical but also of international personality and vested with the prerogatives
normally pertaining only to sovereign states.
 The UN Charter

• The UN Charter is treated as both as a treaty and a constitution. It is a long document

with 111 Articles besides the Preamble and Concluding Provisions and includes the
Statute of the ICJ with is an annex.
• It may be considered as a treaty because it derives its binding force from the agreement
of the parties to it. In another sense, it may be regarded as a constitution in so far as it
provides for the organization and operations of the different organs of the United
Nations and for the adoption of any change in its provisions through a formal process
of amendment.
 The UN Charter

Article 103 of the Charter provides that in case of 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 Ch arter shall prevail.
 Question: Under the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, where injured states received war reparations,
but waived all claims against Japan, is this valid?

Not valid. The treaty must yield to the UN Charter which provides for respect of
human rights. Under Article 103 of the UN Charter, it states that the obligations of UN
members prevail over any international agreement. Still the waiver is qualified and
operative only while Japan had inadequate resources to make full reparation.
 Amendments to the Charter

• When they are adopted by a vote of 2/3 of the members of the General Assembly; and
• Ratified in accordance with their respective constitutional process by 2/3 of the
Members of the United Nations, including the permanent members of the Security
Council.
 Review of the Charter

• General conference may be called by majority vote of the GA and any nine
members of the Security Council for the purpose of reviewing the Charter.

• Amendments proposed shall take effect when ratified by 2/3 of all the Members of
the UN including permanent members of the Security Council.
The Preamble
The Purposes constitute the raison d’etre of the UN are the aggregation of the common
ends, the cause and object of the Charter to which the member states collectively and
severally subscribe. (Article 1, UN Charter)

• 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;
• 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;
The Purposes constitute the raison d’etre of the UN are the aggregation of the common
ends, the cause and object of the Charter to which the member states collectively and
severally subscribe. (Article 1, UN Charter)

• 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
• To be a centre for harmonizing the Actions of nations in the attainment of these
common ends.
The Principles, as enumerated in Article 2 of the Charter, deal with the methods
and the regulating norms in discharge of their obligations:

• The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.
• 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.
• All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a
manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
• 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.
The Principles, as enumerated in Article 2 of the Charter, deal with the methods
and the regulating norms in discharge of their obligations:

• The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.
• 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.
• All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a
manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
• 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.
The Principles, as enumerated in Article 2 of the Charter, deal with the methods
and the regulating norms in discharge of their obligations:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
 Exceptions to the Domestic Jurisdiction Clause

1. When the internal conflict aggravates into a threat or an actual breach of

international peace and security; or

2. Where parties voluntarily invoke and submit to the jurisdiction of the United
Nations for the settlement of their dispute

Illustration. In 1960, In Republic of Congo, which started as a civil far became in fact
an international war between the socialist states and the Western democracies.
 Membership
There are two kinds of members in the United Nations, but they only differ as to
manner of admission and does not involve any difference in enjoyment of rights or the
discharge of obligations. As of 2019, there are currently 193 Members States of the
United Nations.
[1] Original or Charter Members They are those states which participated in the
United Nations Conference on International Organization at San Francisco or have
previously signed the Declaration by United Nation, signed and ratified the Charter.
• Philippines was included as an original member although the country was not yet a
state at the time.
• There were 51 original members.
 Membership

[2] Elective Members The other members of may be admitted to the UN:
• By the decision of the General Assembly;
• Upon the favorable recommendation of the Security Council
• Possess the qualifications for admission

NOTE: The General Assembly cannot admit an applicant for membership without
favorable recommendation of the Security Council.
 Qualifications to the Admission

1. It must be a state
2. It must be peace-loving
3. It must accept the obligations of the Charter
4. It must be able to carry out these obligations
5. It must be willing to carry out these obligations
 Suspension of Members

A member of the UN against which preventive or enforcement action has been

taken by the Security Council may be suspended from the exercises of its rights
and privileges by:
• Upon favorable recommendation of at least nine members of the Security
Council, including all of its permanent members.
• Effected by 2/3 of those present and voting in the GA

NOTE: Only the Security Council can lift the suspension, also by qualified
majority vote.
 Effects of Suspension

• Prevented from participating in GA meetings; or

• From elected to or continuing to serve in the Security Council, Economic
and Social Council or Trusteeship Council
Nationals of the suspended member may continue serving in the Secretariat and
ICJ as they are considered international officials

Since its suspension affects only its rights and privileges, the member is still
subject to the discharge of its obligations under the Charter, such as the
payment of its financial contribution to the Organization.
 Expulsion of Members

A member which was persistently violated the principles may be expelled:

• Upon the favorable recommendation of the Security Council by a qualified
majority
• By 2/3 of those present and voting in the GA

This is a penalty against member which did not satisfy the basic requirements
of membership and would be like a cancerous growth – thus better removed.
 Withdrawal of Members

No provision on withdrawal from membership was included in the Charter for

fear that it might encourage successive withdrawal.

But in a special committee report in the San Francisco Conference, while not
categorically allowing such, expressed view that member might withdraw from
UN if:
• Organization was revealed to be unable to maintain peace or could do so only at the expense
of law and justice;
• Member’s rights and obligations were changed by a Charter amendment in which it had not
concurred or which it finds itself unable to accept;
• Amendment duly accepted by the necessary majority either in the GA or in a general
conference is not ratified.
 ORGANS OF THE UNITED NATIONS

1. General Assembly
2. Security Council
3. Economic and Social Council
4. Trusteeship Council
5. International Court of Justice
6. Secretariat
 [A] The General Assembly

• The most representative organ and consists all of the Members of

the UN each of which is entitled to send not more than 5
representatives with five alternates as well as technical staff.
• It meets in regular annual session from 3rd Tuesday of September
or in special session at the call of (1) majority of its members; or
(2) at the request of the Security Council.
 Voting Rules in General Assembly

1. Each Member has one vote.

2. Decisions on important issues such as election, admission, suspension,
expulsion, trusteeship, budget are taken by two-thirds of those present
and voting.
3. All other matters including the question of whether a question is
important or not, are decided by majority of those present.
 Functions of the General Assembly

1. Deliberative – Initiate studies, recommend, codification of the international laws,

recommending measures for peaceful adjustment of any situation.
2. Supervisory – receiving and considering annual and special reports from the other organs of the
UN, recommend, approving trusteeship agreements in non-strategic areas.
3. Financial - consideration and approval of the budget of the UN, apportionment of expenses and
approve financial arrangements with specialized agencies.
4. Elective – election of permanent members of the Security Council, all the members of the
Economic and Social Council and some of the members of the Trusteeship Council, and in
concurrence with the Security Council, the Secretary-General and the judges of the International
Court of Justice.
5. Constituent – such as the admission of members and amendment of the Charter of the United
Nations.
 [B] The Security Council

• The Security Council is the most potent organ with the power to make
legally binding resolutions.
• It is comprised of the strongest military states and is a concrete manifestations
of the reality of power dynamics.
• This is the key organ in the maintenance of international peace and
security.
• The Security Council is the organ of the United Nations responsible for
international peace and security. It is the only body in the UN with the
authority to take action in defense of the collective security needs of the
international community.
 [B] The Security Council

• In 1999, the Council issued the first in a series of resolutions (Res. 1267) to impound the assets
of individuals supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan. This has been expanded several times since
then and has led to a new norm that UN economic sanctions should primarily take the form of
“smart” sanctions (or “targeted” sanctions) that attack individuals responsible for threats to
international peace and security, rather than a state and all its citizens as a whole.
• The Charter’s adoption ushered in a new international legal system, through which members of
the UN are legally subordinate to the Security Council to a striking degree.
• This, of course, does not translate automatically to state compliance with these obligations, and
this section investigates the ways that states and the UN approach the question of compliance.
The Council aims to produce compliance by states by a combination of political suasion and the
threat of military enforcement.
 Peacekeeping versus Peace Enforcement

• Peace-enforcement missions are coercive invasions of countries by a UN-

authorized force, intent on eliminating or mitigating a threat to international peace
and security.
• Peacekeeping missions, by contrast, are negotiated between the UN and states or
other parties, and have the consent of the government in the state where they are
operating; they often occur in the shadow of a threat from the Council, but in legal
form they are always present with the formal consent of the country.
 Peacekeeping versus Peace Enforcement

• The military operation against Qaddafi in Libya in 2011 represents the peace-
enforcement model, while the Rwanda mission from 1993–94 is an example of a
peacekeeping mission (at least at the start).

• Both operations were intended as responses to threats to international peace and

security, and they included demands by the Council that the states involved comply
with certain conditions set out in the Council’s Resolutions, but the logic by which
they induced compliance was dramatically different between the two.
 Composition of the Security Council

• Five Permanent members – also known as the Big Five:

• China
• France
• United Kingdom
• Russian
• United States

They are given preferred position because of the feeling that they were the states
that, in view of their prestige and power, would be called upon to provide the
leadership and physical force that might be needed to preserve the peace of the
world.
 Composition of the Security Council

• Ten Elective Members (Non-Permanent Members). They are elected for 2-year
terms by the General Assembly:
5 from African and Asian States
2 from Latin American States
2 from Western European States
1 from Eastern European States

They are not eligible for immediate re-election. They are based on geographical
distribution as a recognition to the relative importance of the areas affected in the
maintenance of international order.
 Voting Rules in the Security Council

• This is governed by the Yalta Formula as devised in the Crimea Conference

where each member has one vote, but the distinction between the Big Five and
the non-permanent members is present in case of substantive issues.
• Procedural matters involve questions as to the organization and meetings of the
Security Council, establishment of subsidiary organs and participation of state
parties to a dispute in the discussion of the organ.
• Non-procedural matters are those that may require the Security Council under
its responsibility of maintaining or restoring world peace to invoke the
measures of enforcement.
 Veto Power of a Permanent Member

• A permanent member is enabled to case a veto and prevent agreement on a non-

procedural question even if its supported by all the other members of the
Security Council.
• It may also exercise a double veto by means of which it can disapprove any
proposal to consider a question merely procedural and thereafter vote against
the question itself on the merits. Abstention or absence is not considered a veto.
• Purpose of the Yalta Formula: This is to ensure the unity of permanent members
in measures to be taken in the pursuit of its primary function in maintain
international peace and security.
 Uniting for Peace Resolution

• An emergency session of the General Assembly may be called within 24 hours at the
request of [1] the Security Council at the vote of at least 9 members or by [2] majority
of the members of the General Assembly, to recommend to the member for collective
measures, including use of force if necessary, to restore peace and security.
• Article 24 of the UN Charter states that the SC is mandated to act on behalf of the
entire UN body to fulfill its primary responsibility for maintaining international peace
and security. Functions may include investigating any situation that has the potential
creating international tensions; (1) call for military action towards an aggressor or
threat; (2) impose economic sanctions and other measures; (3)determine the existence
of a breach of peace and actions to be pursued.
 [C] Economic and Social Council

• Termed as ECOSOC. 54 members elected by GA for three-year terms and may

allowed to be re-elected immediately.
• It meets regular session and can have special session at the request of a majority of
its members. Each member has one vote and decisions are reached by majority of
present and voting.
• The primary objective is to advance the economic, social and environmental
dimensions of sustainable development.
• It serves as a gateway of the UN's partnership with the rest of the world for the
coordination, policy review, dialogue, recommendations, and implementation of
international development goals.
 [C] Economic and Social Council

Responsibility for the promotion of international economic and social cooperation is

vested in the GA, and under its authority the ECOSOC. These organs should exert
efforts toward:

1. Higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social
progress and development;
2. Solutions of international economic, social, health, and related problems, and
international, cultural and educational cooperation; and
3. Universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms
for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.
 [D] Trusteeship Council

• It is charged with the duty of assisting the Security Council and the GA
in the administration of the international trusteeship system.
• This has largely become obsolete with the conversion of practically all
trust territories into full-fledged miniature states.
 [E] The International Court of Justice

It is the judicial organ of the UN which function in accordance with the Statute. All
Members of UN are ipso facto parties to the Statute.
• It is composed of 15 members
• Elected by absolute majority of in GA and the Security Council
• Judges must be of high moral character
• Possess qualifications required in their respective countries for the appointment
to their highest judicial offices or are juriconsults of recognized competence in
international law.

No two of them may be nationals of the same state, and in such event two or more
obtain majority – the eldest shall be considered elected.
 Organization

• It shall elect President and Vice President serving for 3 years and may
be re-elected.
• It shall remain permanently in session, at the Hague or elsewhere
except during judicial vacation.
• May meet en banc or in chambers composed of three or more judges to
deal with particular categories of each cases such as those relating to
labor, transit and communications.
• All questions are decided by a majority,
• Quorum is 9 when the full Court is sitting.
 Three elements are necessary for an international dispute to come
within the jurisdiction of the ICJ.

The case must involve:

(i) a legal dispute which is

(ii) between states who

(iii) consent to the jurisdiction of the Court to that case. All three
conditions must be satisfied for the Court to be allowed to hear the case.
 The functions of the Court are to:

1. Decide contentious cases

• Only States, including non-members of UN may be parties in
contentious cases.
2. Render advisory opinions
• Advisory pinions may be given upon request of GA, or the Security
Council, as well as other organs of the UN when authorized by the GA,
on legal questions in the scope of the activities.
 Jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of the ICJ is based on the consent of the parties as

manifest under the Optional Jurisdiction Clause in Article 36 of the ICJ
Statute and comprises all cases which they refer to it and all matters
provided in the Charter or in treaties and conventions in force.
Under Article 36, of ICJ Statute, jurisdiction comprises disputes
concerning:

(a) Interpretation of a treaty

(b) Any question of international law
(c) The existence of any fact which if established could constitute a breach
of an international obligation
(d) Nature or extent of the rep
Under Article 36, of ICJ Statute, jurisdiction comprises disputes
concerning:

• Can ICJ give advisory opinions? Yes, on any legal question at the
request of the GA or Security Council or other organs of UN when
authorized by GA.
• Where is the seat of the ICJ? Peace Palace, The Hague, Netherlands
• How many are its members? There are 15 members of the ICJ.
• What is the term of the office? Nine years and can be re-elected.
• What are the official languages of the ICJ? French and English.
 [F] The Secretariat

• The Secretary General is the highest representative of UN and is authorized

to act in its behalf.
• When acting in such capacity, he is entitled to full diplomatic immunities and
privileges. The privileges and immunities of SG can be waived only by the
Security Council.
• The privileges and immunities of other key-officials of the UN may be
waived by the Secretary-General.
 Other Functions

1. Acts as secretary in all meetings of the: a. General Assembly b. Security

council c. Economic and Social Council d. Trusteeship Council.
2. Performs such other function as may be assigned to him by these organs
3. He prepares the budget of the United Nations for submission to the general
assembly
4. Provides for technical facilities to the different organs of the United
Nations
5. Coordinates the vast administrative machinery of the UN.
Terima Kasih!