Public International Law - Essay Example

Topic: public International law Compare and contrast the provisions of the Covenant of the League of Nations (1919) and the charter of the United nations (1945) supporting your analysis with relevent academic views on the provisions. COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS MEMBERSHIP /ORGANIZATION RULES (Art 1 - 7) Article 1. The signatories of this covenant whose names are listed in the annex are automatic members of the League of Nations. Any fully self governing- nation can be admitted as a new member when their application is approved by two thirds or more of the present assembly members. Members should give assurance that it will observe it international obligations and rules prescribed by the League in regards to its military, naval and air force armaments. Article 2 The action of the League under this Covenant shall be effected through the instrumentality of an Assembly and of a Council, with a permanent Secretariat. Article 3. The assembly shall be composed of representatives of the league members. Each Member of the League shall have one vote, and may have not more than three Representatives. Article 4. The Council shall consist of Representatives of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, together with Representatives of four other Members of the League. With the approval of the majority of the Assembly, the Council may name additional Members of the League whose Representatives shall always be members of the Council; the Council, with like approval may increase the number of Members of the League to be selected by the Assembly for representation on the Council. Any Member of the League not represented on the Council shall be invited to send a Representative to sit as a member at any meeting of the Council during the consideration of matters specially affecting the interests of that Member of the League.Article 5 All matters of procedure at meetings of the Assembly or of the Council, including the appointment of Committees to investigate particular matters, shall be regulated by the Assembly or by the Council and may be decided by a majority of the Members of the League represented at the meeting. Article 6 The permanent Secretariat shall be established at the Seat of the League. The Secretariat shall comprise a Secretary General and such secretaries and staff as may be required. Secretary General shall be appointed by the Council with the approval of the majority of the Assembly. The secretaries and staff of the Secretariat shall be appointed by the Secretary General with the approval of the Council. The Secretary General shall act in that capacity at all meetings of the Assembly and of the Council. Article 7 The Seat of the League is established at Geneva, Switzerland. Representatives of the Members of the League and officials of the League when engaged on the business of the League shall enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities. The buildings and other property occupied by the League or its officials or by Representatives attending its meetings shall be inviolable. ART 3 to 6 Charter of United Nations on MEMBERSHIP requirements have almost the same requirements. PEACE AND ORDER (Art 8 - 17) Article 8. The Members of the League recognises that the maintenance of peace requires the reduction of national armaments to the lowest point consistent with national safety and the enforcement by common action of international obligations. The Council, taking account of the geographical situation and circumstances of each State, shall formulate plans for such reduction for the consideration and action of the several Governments. Such plans shall be subject to reconsideration and revision at least every ten years. After these plans shall have been adopted by the several Governments, the limits of armaments therein fixed shall not be exceeded without the concurrence of the Council. A permanent Commission shall be constituted to advise the Council on the execution of the provisions of Articles 1 and 8 and on military, naval and air questions generally. Article 10 The Members of the League undertake to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all Members of the League. In case of any such aggression or in case of any threat or danger of such aggression the Council shall advise upon the means by which this obligation shall be fulfilled. Article 11 Any war or threat of war, whether immediately affecting any of the Members of the League or not, is hereby declared a matter of concern to the whole League, and the League shall take any action that may be deemed wise and effectual to safeguard the peace of nations. In case any such emergency should arise the Secretary General shall on the request of any Member of the League forthwith summon a meeting of the Council. It is also declared to be the friendly right of each Member of the League to bring to the attention of the Assembly or of the Council any circumstance whatever affecting international relations which threatens to disturb international peace or the good understanding between nations upon which peace depends. Article 12 to 17 specifies in details the summary procedures in case the there is dispute, misunderstanding or eminent war between its members or nations that are not its members. The priority of this procedure to give peace and a long chance. Disputes are presented for arbitration or judicial settlement. The members are instructed to use war only a very last resort. War is allowed only in self defense. Cases shall be decided by Permanent Court of International Justice. The Members of the League agree that they will carry out in full good faith any award or decision that may be rendered, and that they will not resort to war against a Member of the League which complies therewith. In the event of any failure to carry out such an award or decision, the Council shall propose what steps should be taken to give effect thereto. Notice of dispute shall be given to the Secretary General. The council shall try to settle disputes between member states by majority vote. The Council may in any case under this Article refer the dispute to the Assembly. They reflected the great faith in arbitration, judicial settlement and international law that prevailed in the early 20th century. Art. 1 - 2, 23-51 United Nations Charter Security Council has the same intentions. TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION (Art 10 ) The Members of the League undertake to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all Members of the League. In case of any such aggression or in case of any threat or danger of such aggression the Council shall advise upon the means by which this obligation shall be fulfilled territorial integrity and existing political independence of all Members of the League. ART 23 -51 United Nations Charter Security Council has almost the same function as the League of Nation Council. PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE (Art 14) The Council shall formulate and submit to the Members of the League for adoption plans for the establishment of a Permanent Court of International Justice. This Court shall be competent to hear and determine any dispute of an international character which the parties thereto submit to it. The Court may also give an advisory opinion upon any dispute or question referred to it by the Council or by the Assembly AR 92 to 96 of United Nations Charter International Court of Justice have almost the same functions. ART 9 to 17 of United Nations Charter enumerates the functions of General Assembly. The UN Gen. Assembly has almost the same functional intentions as the League of Nations Assembly above. TREATIES (Art 18 to 21) All treaties or international engagement shall be registered with the secretariat. With registration, the treaties will not be valid. ART 55 to 72 of United Nations Charter international economic and social co-operation includes treaties or agreements among its member nations. HUMANITARIAN GOALS (Art 23) The Members of the League: will endeavour to secure and maintain fair and humane conditions of labour for men, women, and children, both in their own countries and in all countries to which their commercial and industrial relations extend, and for that purpose will establish and maintain the necessary international organisations; undertake to secure just treatment of the native inhabitants of territories under their control; will entrust the League with the general supervision over the execution of agreements with regard to the traffic in women and children, and the traffic in opium and other dangerous drugs; will entrust the League with the general supervision of the trade in arms and ammunition with the countries in which the control of this traffic is necessary in the common interest; will make provision to secure and maintain freedom of communications and of transit and equitable treatment for the commerce of all Members of the League. In this connection, the special necessities of the regions devastated during the war of 1914-1918 shall be borne in mind; will endeavour to take steps in matters of international concern for the prevention and control of disease. Preamble no. 2 United Nations Charter states "to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small," and Preamble no. 4 "to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom" has the same intentions as the Art 23 of the Covenant of League of Nations above. INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION / OTHER AGENCIES (Art. 24) There shall be placed under the direction of the League all international bureaus already established by general treaties if the parties to such treaties consent. All such international bureaus and all commissions for the regulation of matters of international interest hereafter constituted shall be placed under the direction of the League. In all matters of international interest which are regulated by general convention but which are not placed under the control of international bureaus or commissions, the Secretariat of the League shall, subject to the consent of the Council and if desired by the parties, collect and distribute all relevant information and shall render any other assistance which may be necessary or desirable. The Council may include as part of the expenses of the Secretariat the expenses of any bureau or commission which is placed under the direction of the League. ART 7 United Nations Charter states that the principal organs of the UN are a) General Assembly [Art. 9 - 22]b) Security Council [Art. 23-51] c) Economic and Social Council [Art. 55-72& Art. 55-60] d) Truteeship Council. [Art. 86-91] NATIONAL RED CROSS (Article 25) The Members of the League agree to encourage and promote the establishment and co-operation of duly authorised voluntary national Red Cross organisations having as purposes the improvement of health, the prevention of disease and the mitigation of suffering throughout the world. In the UN Charter there is no mention of a counterpart Red Cross. The nearest that can be done is to relate the Red Cross to the Economic and Social Council departments of the United Nations Art. 55-b which mentions health as one of its priorities. EXECUTIVE ORGANS The principal executive organs of the League of Nations were the Assembly and the Council, which were assisted by a permanent Secretariat. Except on procedural matters all decisions in both the Assembly and the Council had to be by unanimous vote. But a party to a dispute could not vote in its own case. All members of the League were represented in the Assembly, each state having one vote. There was at least one session a year, and the debates generally covered all phases of the League's activities. The Assembly elected its own president, developed its own specialized committees, and established its rules of procedure. The Council was to have consisted of 5 great powers with permanent seats--the United States, Britain, France, Italy, and Japan--and 4 non-permanent members, elected by the Assembly. The United States never took its seat, but when Germany and the Soviet Union were admitted to the league, as great powers they had permanent seats on the Council. The number of nonpermanent Members was eventually increased to 11. The Council met regularly several times a year and in special session when necessary." ART 97 TO 101 United Nations Charter refers to the same idea. ART 7 United Nations Charter states that the principal organs of the UN are a) General Assembly b) Security Council c) Economic and Social Council d) Truteeship Council. The United Nations also has a Secretary General K. Annan. THE LEAGUE'S FAILURES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS The main purpose for the establishment of the league of nations, an offshoot from the ravages and sorrow of world war 1, was to prevent as much as possible the outbreak of another world war. Most of the articles mentioned in the covenant of the League of Nations, more than fifty percent, concentrated on the peacemaking mandate or priority of the League of Nations. But the League of Nations depended on the superpowers like the United States to carry out its peace keeping instructions. Unfortunately, the United States, was not voted by the United States congress to join the League of Nations. The League was the brainchild of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. Only Great Britain and France were the superpowers that joined the League of Nations. The League of Nations failed in its mandate to stop world war 2. This caused this international amity of nations to fold up and disappear. It was replaced by the United Nations. The United Nations took over most of the functions and assets of the League of Nations. The following feathers in the cap of the League of Nations are such numbers of far-reaching accomplishments. It proved that international administration of small territories was feasible, and the Lytton and Epidemics Commissions illustrated the value of impartial international investigating bodies. In the areas of social and economic cooperation, where the League was most successful, it went beyond the original intention of its Covenant, because it helped to meet specific and real problems of people in their daily lives. The League of Nations went as far and as fast as the great powers would permit. (http://www.library.miami.edu/gov/League.html) CONCLUSION As they say, the voice of the people is the voice of God. Although both the Covent of the League of Nations and the United Nations Charter are not the same in most aspects, they are similar in most respects. The intentions of the framers from the many nations that organized the League of Nations and the United Nations were in the same plane. As they say, The law is made for man and not the Man made for the law. The saying goes, its is the substance of the agreement, contract or treaty among nations and persons and not the form of the agreement, contract or treaty that matters more. The main objective of the birth of the League of Nations and the United Nations was to prevent war as much as possible. Another aim is to make this one world we live in, a better and happier and friendlier place to be. In fact, the United Nations has prevented another world war 3 by letting both sides of the war arena many last ditch stands to shake hands and settle their differences before the sun goes down. "Adaptation, Flexibility and change are not words that seem to associate with international law, but international law is a factor for adaptation (Ku, C, Global Governance and the Changing Face of International Law,2001,American Society of International Law) REFERENCES: http://www.unog.ch/80256EE60057D930/(httpPages)/8C989922E1DBC95980256EF8005048CAOpenDocument http://www.library.miami.edu/gov/League.html) http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/leagcov.htm United Nations Charter Covenant of the League of Nations Ku, C, Global Governance and the Changing Face of International Law,2001,American Society of International Law The Treaty of Peace between The Allied and Associated Powers and Germany & Treaty between France and Great Britain at Versailles, June 28, 1919, Imperial House, London 1919 http://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_item/Versailles.htm Bojanovsky & Trautwein, HABERLER, THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, AND THE SEARCH FOR CONSENSUS IN BUSINESS CYCLE THEORY IN THE 1930s, Brazil http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-9275411 European Code of Social Security ( Revised) Rome, June 11, 1990 Khan, L. 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