PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW

SYNOPSIS

AKSHAY KHARTE

-BA0140005

Introduction:

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. It is currently made

up of 193 Member States. The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the
purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter. Due to the powers vested in its
Charter and its unique international character, the United Nations can take action on the
issues confronting humanity in the 21st century, such as peace and security, climate
change, sustainable development, human rights, disarmament, terrorism, humanitarian
and health emergencies, gender equality, governance, food production, and more.

The UN also provides a forum for its members to express their views in the General
Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, and other bodies and
committees. By enabling dialogue between its members, and by hosting negotiations, the
Organization has become a mechanism for governments to find areas of agreement and
solve problems together. 1

Established in 1945 under the Charter of the United Nations, the General Assembly occupies a
central position as the chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United
Nations. Comprising all 193 Members of the United Nations, it provides a unique forum for
multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter. It also
plays a significant role in the process of standard-setting and the codification of international
law.

The Assembly meets from September to December each year, and thereafter, from January to
August, as required, including taking up outstanding reports from the Fourth and Fifth

1 http://www.un.org/en/sections/about-un/overview/index.html (last visited:

30/03/2017)
Committees. Also during the resumed part of the session, the Assembly considers current issues
of critical importance to the international community in the form of high-level thematic debates
organized by the President of the General Assembly in consultation with the membership.

During that period, the Assembly traditionally also conducts informal consultations on a wide
range of substantive topics, including on UN reform related matters.2

Objectives of the title:

The objective of the research is to analyze the functioning of the UN general assembly and to
know about the structure of the organization and its role in the international scenario. The
researcher will also study the role of the organization in maintaining peace among the member
nations.

Research Questions:

Whether the structure of the UN General Assembly satisfying to the current international
challenges?
Whether the functions and powers of the UN General Assembly need to be improvised
according to the need of the current international scenario?

Research Methodology:

Basically research means investigation of new things and new things means firsthand experience.
The research methodology used in this project by the researcher is doctrinal. Doctrinal research
in law field indicates arranging, ordering and analysis of the legal structure, legal framework and
case law to search out the new things by extensive surveying of legal literature but without any
field work.

Conclusion:

The United Nations has been part of the dynamics of international relations for more than 60
years, during which many things have changed, including the perspective that every individual
might have of his or her place in the universe. The UN is present in many fields and is expected
to be even more so. Through its many specialized agencies, it sometimes accomplishes miracles
2 http://www.un.org/en/ga/about/background.shtml (last visited: 30/03/2017)
and does so with extremely limited resources. The world has changed, and the UN has also
managed to adapt and even sometimes to precede and influence the deep structural changes that
have altered the course of things and of history. As regards reforms, the UN has also attempted to
prime the pump through its Secretary General, sometimes with relative success.

Bibliography:

Articles:

U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION ON MEASURES AGAINST CORRUPT

PRACTICES OF TRANSNATIONAL AND OTHER CORPORATIONS, International
Legal Materials,Vol. 15, No. 1 (JANUARY 1976), pp. 180-181,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/20691540
U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION ON THE MIDDLE EAST, International
Legal Materials, Vol. 12, No. 2 (MARCH 1973), pp. 439-441,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/20691082
The UN General Assembly and Racial Discrimination, P. D. Kausik and Mansha Ram
Singh Social Scientist Vol. 1, No. 6 (Jan., 1973), pp. 42-48,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3516242
U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
CHARTER OF ECONOMIC RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF STATES International Legal
Materials Vol. 15, No. 1 (JANUARY 1976), pp. 175-176,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/20691538
Foreign Policy and Voting in the UN General Assembly Kul B. Rai International
Organization Vol. 26, No. 3 (Summer, 1972), pp. 589-594,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2706133