Charter of the United Nations and Statute of the International Court of Justice
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Many questions about the UN can be researched most effectively by starting with secondary reference materials such as books or articles. Researchers often find it helpful to identify the provisions of the UN Charter relevant to their topic of research. Identifying the relevant article(s) of the UN Charter helps the researcher use specialized reference books such as UN Charter commentaries and certain UN legal publications.
UN Charter commentaries are specialized legal treatises organized by article of the UN Charter; these publications and other reference books, encyclopedias, and articles about the UN:
The Dag Hammarskjöld Library has commentaries on the UN Charter in English, French, and Spanish.
UN reference resources such as the Repertory of the Practice of UN Organs and the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council provide detailed legal analysis of the actions of the organization over time and cite relevant UN Charter provisions, UN documents and publications. The UN Juridical Yearbook includes legal opinions on topics related to the UN Charter and the work of the organization. UN Yearbooks are also useful for historic research.
Reference books and other resources mentioned in this guide may be available at libraries around the world -- check your local or national library, UN depository library, or WorldCat, for assistance with materials mentioned in this guide that are not published by the UN.
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![UN7757356 Headline: The San Francisco Conference, 25 April-26 June 1945 Caption Description: Delegates of fifty nations met in San Francisco between April 25 and June 26, 1945. At a meeting of Committee I (International Court of Justice) of Commission IV (Judicial Organization) are, from left: Miguel Cruchaga, Senator, delegate from Chile; Eduardo Zuleta Angel, delegate from Colombia; and Ernesto Dihigo Lopez Trigo, delegate from Cuba. [No exact date] Country: United States Credit: UN Photo/Rosenberg Production Date: 4/25/1945 12:00:49 PM](https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/accounts/2786/images/UN7757356_8df_.jpg)
Several conferences and agreements led up to the 1945 San Francisco Conference when the text of the Charter was finalized, adopted and signed.
Between the adoption of the Charter and the beginning of the functioning of the United Nations, the Preparatory Commission and its subsidiaries worked on many practical matters and made recommendations to the UN organs.
Key texts were published in United Nations Documents, 1941-1945, published by the Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1946.
The United Nations Conference on International Organization, was held in San Francisco, California, 25 April - 26 June 1945, to draft the Charter of the United Nations and the Statute of the International Court of Justice. The text was based on earlier proposals, negotiated in various subsidiary bodies, and finally adopted unanimously in a plenary meeting of the Conference on 25 June 1945.
Representatives of 50 countries participated in the San Francisco Conference. The Charter was opened for signature on 26 June 1945. The representatives of 50 countries signed on 26 June; Poland signed on 15 October 1945.
China was the first country to sign the UN Charter on 26 June 1945. Then, according to the 1946-1947 UN Yearbook, page 33, "It was arranged that the signatures of the U.S.S.R., the United Kingdom and France should follow, and then, in alphabetical order, the remaining nations, with the United States, as host country, signing last. As each delegation came forward to sign, its chairman made an official speech to commemorate his country's participation in the work of the Conference."
In accordance with Article 110, the Charter entered into force on 24 October 1945, after ratification by the five permanent members of the Security Council and a majority of the other countries. Twenty-two countries subsequently deposited their instruments of ratification.
There are many ways to approach Charter research.
Some sources are arranged by Article of the Charter, such as:
Other sources may look at the Charter as a whole, such as:
Secondary sources such as books and articles may also discuss certain aspects of the Articles of the Charter. For example:
In addition, it is possible to search by subject in databases and library catalogues to identify material that may discuss the substance of Charter articles (such as self-defence, UN membership, General Assembly, Security Council, International Court of Justice, etc.).
For research into the drafting history of a particular Article of the Charter, in addition to the sources suggested above, the final two volumes of the Documents of the United Nations Conference on International Organization are indexes to the complete set of documents, organized by Article of the Charter. Within the section for each Article, there are citations to the documents by proposal and committee, as well as a subsection for subject analysis. Volume 21 is the English index. Volume 22 is the French index. Volume 16 is a subject index to the first 15 volumes of the set.
UN Charter, Chapter II, Articles 3-6 concern Membership in the UN. Only states can be members of the United Nations.
Membership in different organs of the UN varies.
Membership of the principal organs is determined by the Charter of the United Nations and the Statute of the International Court of Justice:
In accordance with the Charter, the General Assembly (Article 22), Security Council (Article 29) and the Economic and Social Council (Article 68) may establish subsidiary organs. The decision to establish a subsidiary organ (also called the mandate) usually includes:
Chapter IV : Articles 9-22 : General Assembly
Chapter V : Articles 23-32 : The Security Council
Chapter VI : Articles 33-38 : Pacific Settlement of Disputes
Chapter VII : Articles 39-51: Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression
Chapter VIII : Articles 52-54 : Regional Arrangements
Chapter X : Economic and Social Council : Articles 61-72
Charter of the United Nations
Statute of the International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice was established by the UN Charter. The Statute of the International Court of Justice is annexed to the Charter and is an integral part of the UN Charter. According to the ICJ website, the main purpose of the Statute is to organize the composition and functioning of the Court.
Chapter XI : Articles 73-74 : Declaration Regarding Non-Self-Governing Territories
Chapter XII : Articles 75-85 : International Trusteeship System
Chapter XIII : Articles 86-91 : The Trusteeship Council
Chapter III : Organs : Article 7
Chapter XV : The Secretariat : Articles 97-101
In general, secondary sources provide the best starting point for research on the Charter. Some key titles are listed here.
The Charter of the United Nations
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La Charte des Nations Unies : commentaire article par article
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The Statute of the International Court of Justice : a commentary
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International Institutional Law
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Law and Practice of the United Nations
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The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law
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Oppenheim's International Law
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The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations
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The Procedure of the UN Security Council
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Accessible at UN Headquarters in New York and through other subscribing institutions. Please contact your library for guidance.
The Charter of the United Nations is deposited with the government of the United States.
A certified true copy was presented to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on 2 January 2008 by Allen Weinstein of the United States National Archives.
The Library holds a collection of translations of the UN Charter into various languages.
