Samenvatting - International and European Law

The UN is an international organization founded on 24 oct 1945 after the Second World War
by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing
friendly relations among the nations and promoting social progress, better living standards
and human rights.
 193 member states (last to join was South Sudan in 2011)
Headquarters (Manhattan, New York City)
 Further main offices: Geneva, Nairobi, Vienna
 To make any changes all the countries in the union would have to agree and sign to
make any changes and that is very unlikely.
 UN isn’t a state
o What defines a state? A state has to have sovereignty

 UN ORGANS ( USESI)
1. UN general assembly
2. Security council
3. Economic and social council
4. Secretariat
5. International court of justice

1. UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY = Recommendations + budget + elections
 Organisation:
o 193 representatives of the member states of UN
o Meets in annual regular sessions
o Everyone can join, if they agree to the laws
o 1 nation = 1 vote
 Activities:
o It passes non-compulsory resolutions
▪ They don’t have legislative powers, and the resolutions it passes are
not legally binding
• example: Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
o Decision making style:
▪ Standard = majority vote
▪ Important resolutions (budget, elections) by 2/3 majority

2. SECURITY COUNCIL = Resolutions for peace and security
 Organisation:
o 15 members:
▪ 5 permanent members(veto power): China; France; Soviet Union; US;
UK
• These members have veto power, meaning that if any one of
them votes against a proposed resolution, it cannot be
adopted.
▪ 10 elected members (non-veto)
• Elected by the general assembly for 2 terms (4 years)
 Activities:
o Adoption of compulsory resolutions = therefore most powerful part of the UN
▪ The Security Council's resolutions are binding on all UN member states

,3. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL = Promotes collaboration between states on economic
& social matters.
 Organisation:
o 54 members
o Elected by the general assembly for 3 terms (9years)
 Activities:
o Co-ordinations of special agencies (UNESCO; WHO; ILO)
▪ The Council provides guidance and support to these agencies.
• UNESCO => promote science; culture and education
• WHO => promotes health and global well being
• ILO => promoting social justice and decent working conditions
o Headquarter: Geneva, Switzerland
o 185 member states
o Preparing conventions in labour issues (188
conventions and 198 recommendations)
• Conventions are legally binding
• Recommendations provide guidance and are not legally
binding
4. SECRETARIAT
 Organisation:
o Chairperson: the UN Secretary General (António Guterres since 2017)
▪ Elected by the general assembly upon recommendation of the security
council (serves 5 years)
 Activities:
o responsible for administrative support to the other organs and bodies of the
UN = Serves as a neutral facilitator to help the UN run smoothly
o It has no power to make decision.

5. INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE (ICJ)
 Organisation:
o Main judicial body of the UN
o Located: Peace Palace in The Hague
o Made up of 15 judges
▪ Elected by the UN general assembly
▪ Judgments by relative majority of the judges
• Enforced by the security council, which have veto power over
any decisions made by the ICJ
 Activities:
o Responsible for dealing with disputes between states that recognize its
jurisdiction.
o In contentious (controversial) cases:
o ICJ has judicial power, but it only has jurisdiction over cases in which countries
allow or request its involvement.
▪ Therefore, the court has only dealt with a relative small number of
cases (190)
▪ Power is limited by the willingness of countries to cooperate with it.

, International Criminal Court (ICC) = national public law institution = NO UN ORGAN
 Permanent court; it has jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the most serious
crimes of concern to the international community
 Organisation:
o Created: 1 July 2002
o Location: The Hague
 Activities:
o Complementing national judicial systems
o Ratification is the formal process of approving or confirming a treaty,
agreement, or law. When a country ratifies a treaty or agreement, it means
that it has gone through the necessary legal procedures, such as approval by
the country's parliament, and that the country is now legally bound by the
terms of the treaty or agreement.

The protection of human rights
 The key mandates of the UN, are a subject of IPL
 The primary subject
o Sovereign states
o International Committee of the Red Cross
o The Holy See (Vatican)
o The Sovereign Military Order of Malta
▪ But not: Individual persons are not considered subjects of IPL
Sources of law
 Customary international public law
o Minimum standards of human rights that are considered binding on all
sovereign states.
▪ Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery
and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and
education.
o Enforced by the UN Security Council

 Charter of the UN
o promote HR + serve as a basis for treaties
o It does not directly provide for the protection of HR but establishes 5 UN
institutions to protect and promote human rights.

 Human Rights Treaties
o are the most effective way of protecting human rights.
o binding agreements between states that sign them
o Individuals can file complaints of human rights violations under these treaties.
o Examples:
▪ ICCPR = International covenant on civil and political rights
▪ ICESCR = International covenant on economic, social and cultural rights
▪ Specific treats = slavery
▪ The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), is not a treaty, but
a non-binding declaration set up by the UN GA.