Law and Practice of International Organizations - Research Paper Example

This is a classic opinion which reflects the intention that the Assembly is merely a parliamentary advisory body with the binding decisions being taken by the Security Council. The GA is characterized an international forum and the meeting of the Member states. As a general rule, GA does not have the power to legislate and its resolutions cannot have the binding effect of laws which are enacted by the national parliament. The resolutions do not have a legal and binding effect and does not create a legal or moral obligation among member states.

However, recommendations from the Member states can address important issues of global concern and foster cooperation among states. Malanczuk and Akehurst (1997 p. 53) has concluded that the International Court of Justice in the Nicaragua case has ruled that resolutions of international organizations as a source of law. However, a resolution passed in a meeting of international organization is never conclusive as evidence of customary law. Thus, the mere statement of what a law is supposed to be is not sufficient in evidence, but nothing more an attempt on the part of the states to clarify their position.

GA resolutions, even if they may not be binding have a normative value, which means that in certain circumstances, they provide important evidence in establishing the existence of a rule or the emergence of opinion juris. It is necessary to look at the content and the conditions of its adoption to weigh its normative character. These resolutions of international organizations are sometimes known as the “soft law”, in the sense that the guideline of conduct are not strictly binding norms of law and operate in a grey zone between law and politics, which lack a legally binding quality( Malanczuk and Akehurst, 1997 p. 53). Therefore, the client is not expected to follow the resolution issued by the UN General Assembly because it does not create a legal obligation to the client.

The client will also not be subjected to any sanction even if it complies with its contract with Israel because the resolution issued by the Assembly is merely recommendatory and generally has no legal and binding effect. Hambro (1977, p.250) reported that there is a fundamental difference between the decisions made by the SC which are binding on all member States, while recommendations made by GA are not binding on the states per se, except to those states which have accepted them. However, Dugard, Bethlehem and Du Plessis (1997. P. 34) suggested than an accumulation of resolutions, a repetition of recommendations on a particular subject, may amount to evidence of collective practice on the part of the States.

However, the answer will still be different if the arms embargo to Israel was ordered by the Security Council on the basis of Article 41 of the Charter. In this case, I will advise the client to obey and follow the order of arms embargo of the SC to avoid being sanctioned. “Unlike the UN General Assembly, the Security Council has the competence to adopt resolutions under Articles 24 and 25 of the UN Charter which is binding among all Member States of the organization”(Shaw, 2008, p 116). Therefore, it is mandatory upon the client to strictly follow the resolution of the Security Council.

Shaw (2008, p. 411) has concluded in his report that a person who commits a crime within the jurisdiction