2001
Part One. Legal status of the United Nations and related intergovernmental organizations
| Chapter I. Legislative texts concerning the legal status of the United Nations and related intergovernmental organizations |  |
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| Austria | ||||
| Federal Government Regulations on the exemption from advertising tax of international organizations having their headquarters in Austria | 3 | |||
| Chapter II. Treaty provisions concerning the legal status of the United Nations and related intergovernmental organizations | |
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| A. | Treaty provisions concerning the legal status of the United Nations | |||
| 1. | Status of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. Approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 13 February 1946 | 5 | ||
| 2. | Agreements relating to missions, offices and meetings | |||
| (a) | Agreement between the United Nations and Ethiopia concerning the status of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Signed at New York on 23 March 2001 | 5 | ||
| (b) | Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations and the Government of New Zealand contributing resources to the United Nations in East Timor. Signed at New York on 27 April 2001 | 17 | ||
| (c) | Exchange of Letters constituting an agreement concerning arrangements between the United Nations and the Government of Estonia regarding the Joint ECE/Eurostat Work Session on Methodological Issues Involving the Integration of Statistics and Geography, to be held in Tallinn from 25 to 28 September 2001. Signed at Geneva on 21 May 2001 and 7 June 2001 | 22 | ||
| (d) | Agreement between the United Nations and the Government of the Republic of South Africa on the arrangements for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. Signed at Geneva on 6 August 2001 | 24 | ||
| (e) | Agreement between the United Nations and the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua regarding the Third Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. Signed at New York on 23 August 2001 | 32 | ||
| (f) | Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor and the Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil, in the field of educational cooperation. Signed at Dili on 24 August 2001 | 39 | ||
| (g) | Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development regarding coordination of security arrangements. Signed at New York on 10 October 2001 | 41 | ||
| 3. | Agreements relating to the United Nations Children’s Fund | |||
| Basic Cooperation Agreement between the United Nations Children’s Fund and the Government of Liberia. Signed at Monrovia on 20 July 2001 | 44 | |||
| 4. | Agreements relating to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees | |||
| Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Economic Community of West African States. Signed at New York on 19 November 2001 | 54 | |||
| B. | Treaty provisions concerning the legal status of intergovernmental organizations related to the United Nations | |||
| 1. | Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Specialized Agencies. Approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 21 November 1947 | 58 | ||
| 2. | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization | |||
| Agreements relating to conferences, seminars and other meetings—basic privileges and immunities provision | 59 | |||
| 3. | Agreements relating to the World Health Organization | |||
| Agreement between the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the Government of Cameroon on the organization of the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of African Ministers of Industry (CAMI—XV). Signed on 12 September 2001 | 59 | |||
| 4. | International Atomic Energy Agency | |||
| Protocol Additional to the Agreement between the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Application of Safeguards in connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Signed at Vienna on 30 March 2001 | 61 | |||
Part Two. Legal activities of the United Nations and related intergovernmental organizations
| Chapter III. General review of the legal activities of the United Nations and related intergovernmental organizations | |
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| A. | General review of the legal activities of the United Nations | |||
| 1. | Disarmament and related matters | 75 | ||
| 2. | Other political and security questions | 83 | ||
| 3. | Environmental, economic, social, humanitarian and cultural questions | 85 | ||
| 4. | Law of the sea | 92 | ||
| 5. | International Court of Justice | 94 | ||
| 6. | International Law Commission | 149 | ||
| 7. | United Nations Commission on International Trade Law | 151 | ||
| 8. | Legal questions dealt with by the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly and by ad hoc legal bodies | 157 | ||
| 9. | United Nations Institute for Training and Research | 159 | ||
| B. | General review of the legal activities of intergovernmental organizations related to the United Nations | |||
| 1. | International Labour Organization | 160 | ||
| 2. | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization | 161 | ||
| 3. | World Health Organization | 164 | ||
| 4. | World Bank | 166 | ||
| 5. | International Civil Aviation Organization | 168 | ||
| 6. | Universal Postal Union | 170 | ||
| 7. | International Maritime Organization | 174 | ||
| 8. | World Intellectual Property Organization . | 179 | ||
| 9. | United Nations Industrial Development Organization | 184 | ||
| 10. | International Atomic Energy Agency | 186 | ||
| 11. | World Trade Organization | 190 | ||
| Chapter IV. Treaties concerning international law concluded under the auspices of the United Nations and related intergovernmental organizations | |
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| A. | Treaties concerning international law concluded under the auspices of the United Nations | |||
| 1. | Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. Done at Stockholm on 22 May 2001 | 216 | ||
| 2. | Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Done at New York on 31 May 2001 | 247 | ||
| 3. | Agreement on Succession Issues. Done at Vienna on 29 June 2001 | 256 | ||
| 4. | United Nations Convention on the Assignment of Receivables in International Trade. Done at New York on 12 December 2001 | 290 | ||
| B. | Treaties concerning international law concluded under the auspices of intergovernmental organizations related to the United Nations | |||
| International Maritime Organization | ||||
| (a) | International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage. Done at London on 23 March 2001 | 310 | ||
| (b) | International Convention on the Control of harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships. Done at London on 5 October 2001 | 320 | ||
| Chapter V. Decisions of Administrative Tribunals of the United Nations and related intergovernmental organizations | |
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| A. | Decisions of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal | |||
| 1. | Judgement No. 1004 (26 July 2001): Capote v. the Secretary-General of the United Nations | |||
| Summary dismissal for serious misconduct—Question whether a personal matter fell within the disciplinary purview of UNICEF—Staff regulation 1.4—Issue of prima facie evidence of wrongdoing—Delays in JDC proceedings | 343 | |||
| 2. | Judgement No. 1009 (26 July 2001): Makil v. the Secretary-General of the United Nations | |||
| Non-consensual special leave with full pay six months retirement—Findings of fact by United Nations bodies—Basis for the altering of facts by the Tribunal—Staff regulation 5.2 and staff rule 105.2(a)(i) on special leave—Proof of an ulterior, improper motive—Urgency of situation preventing an investigation or hearing—Right to express opposing views—Right to counsel—Question of a precipitous expulsion from one’s office | 344 | |||
| 3. | Judgement No. 1011 (27 July 2001): Iddi v. the Secretary-General of the United Nations | |||
| Summary dismissal for serious misconduct—Question of receivability—Determination of serious misconduct—Choice of penalty—Discretionary power versus arbitrary power/abuse of power—Exercise of quasi-jurisdictional power—Principle of equality of treatment of staff members | 348 | |||
| 4. | Judgement No. 1014 (20 November 2001): Al Ansari, Zarra and Khalil, and Abdulhadi et al. v. the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East | |||
| Revision of judgement—Article 12 of the statute of the Tribunal—Disciplinary measures versus administrative measures—Revision criteria | 350 | |||
| 5. | Judgement No. 1018 (20 November 2001): Al-Fahoum v. the Secretary-General of the United Nations | |||
| Non-renewal of fixed-term appointment—As a general rule no entitlement to renewal—An inaccurate performance report—Poor working relationship with Director—Necessity of objective performance evaluation—Sexual harassment charges | 351 | |||
| 6. | Judgement No. 1020 (20 November 2001): Hazayyen v. United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East | |||
| Termination for misconduct—Establishment of misconduct—Staff member stealing from another staff member was of concern to the organization—Appropriateness of penalty | 353 | |||
| 7. | Judgement No. 1031 (21 November 2001): Klein v. the Secretary-General of the United Nations | |||
| Non-selection to a higher-level post—Broad discretionary powers to promote qualified staff—Abuse of discretion—Staff regulation 4.2—ST/AI/412 (promoting gender balance)—Improper intervention in selection process | 354 | |||
| 8. | Judgement No. 1032 (23 November 2001): Rahman v. the Secretary-General of the United Nations | |||
| Separation on grounds of misconduct—UNDP policy on sexual harassment—Question of uncorroborated testimony—Issue of prejudice or bias—Question of adequate notice | 356 | |||
| 9. | Judgement No. 1040 (30 November 2001): Uspensky v. the Secretary-General of the United Nations | |||
| Non-conversion to a career appointment—Right of a staff member to be considered for a permanent post—Non-conversion based on financial position of the Organization—Discrimination based on source of funding for posts—Discrimination based on nationality—Practical remedy because of age | 358 | |||
| 10. | Judgement No. 1041 (30 November 2001): Conde Estua v. the Secretary-General of the United Nations | |||
| Request to be declared sole surviving spouse of deceased staff member—Payments under staff rule 109.10 only permit one surviving spouse—Choice of law—Exceptional case regarding award of costs to the losing party | 360 | |||
| B. | Decisions of the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organization | |||
| 1. | Judgement No. 2046 (27 April 2001): In re Muller-Engelmann (No. 12) v. European Patent Organisation | |||
| Request for damages regarding unlawful determination of unauthorized absence from service—Stalemate in appointing third member of board | 361 | |||
| 2. | Judgement No. 2052 (3 May 2001): In re Henrotte v. European Patent Organisation | |||
| Complaint against not being allowed to spend sick leave elsewhere than at her place of residence—Discretionary decision is subjected to a limited review—Procedural error was not prejudicial—Question of substantial grounds being indicated for decision—Question of humanitarian circumstances | 363 | |||
| 3. | Judgement No. 2092 (12 November 2001): In re Spaans v. Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons | |||
| Non-renewal due to abolishment of post—Issue of changing reason for taking a decision—Test for abolishment of a post—Obligation of executive head to give a reason for rejection of appeal body’s recommendation | 364 | |||
| 4. | Judgement No. 2096 (2 November 2001): In re Bruce v. Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons | |||
| Non-renewal of contract—Limited power of review of decision—Question of proper constitution of Contract Renewal Board—Obligation to complete performance reports—Question of remedy | 365 | |||
| 5. | Judgement No. 2102 (6 November 2001): In re Jazayeri v. International Fund for Agricultural Development | |||
| Request to withdraw criminal complaint filed by organization— Competency of Tribunal to hear case—Question of receivability—Disciplinary safeguards do not apply to criminal proceedings—Question of protection of staff member’s dignity and good name | 367 | |||
| 6. | Judgement No. 2103 (6 November 2001): In re Jazayeri (No. 2) v. International Fund for Agricultural Development | |||
| Complaint against the withholding of entitlements (including pension entitlements)—Competency of Tribunal to hear case—Question of receivability—Settlement of a staff member’s indebtedness to the organization—Question of the organization refusing to send forms to UNJSPF—Question of withholding repatriation allowance | 369 | |||
| 7. | Judgement No. 2111 (6 November 2001): In re Cuvillier (No. 4) v. International Labour Organization | |||
| Complaint concerning the taxation of staff member’s pension by national authorities—Competency of Tribunal to review matter—Question of receivability | 370 | |||
| C. | Decisions of the World Bank Administrative Tribunal | |||
| 1. | Decision No. 241 (26 April 2001): Lee v. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development | |||
| Termination because of redundancy—Staff rule 7.01, paragraph 8.02(c) versus paragraph 8.02(d)—Need to allow for more than literal interpretation of Staff Rules—Duty to promote harmonious relationships—Review of business and managerial discretionary decisions—Question of transparency in the process—Issue of age discrimination—Improper handling of administrative review—Duty to assist redundant staff member in finding alternative employment | 372 | |||
| 2. | Decision No. 245 (23 July 2001): Nunberg v. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development | |||
| Complaint that 5 per cent increase in salary to negate gender discrimination was too low—Discretionary decisions—Proof of gender inequity—Question of 5 per cent increase being fair and reasonable—Difficulty of applying an individual regression analysis—Because of importance of issues, Tribunal awards costs | 375 | |||
| D. | Decisions of the Administrative Tribunal of the International Monetary Fund | |||
| Judgement No. 2001-1 (30 March 2001): Estate of Mr. “D” v. International Monetary Fund | ||||
| Admissibility of the application—Tribunal’s jurisdiction under article II of its statute—Exhaustion of remedies requirement of article V—Importance of timeliness—Exceptional circumstances for excusing lack of timeliness | 377 | |||
| Chapter VI. Selected legal opinions of the secretariats of the United Nations and related intergovernmental organizations | |
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| A. | Legal opinions of the Secretariat of the United Nations (issued or prepared by the Office of Legal Affairs) [see also: additional legal opinions] | |||
| Liability issues | ||||
| 1. | Payment of settlement claims—Liabilities of a private law nature—Procedures for settlement—Budget considerations, 23 February 2001 | 381 | ||
| Peacekeeping | ||||
| 2. | Liability for damage caused by a troop—contributing country to equipment provided by another country to a United Nations peacekeeping operation—“No-fault incident” factor—Gross negligence or wilful misconduct—Memoranda of Understanding, 29 March 2001 | 386 | ||
| 3. | United Nations reimbursement of salaries paid to troops during sick leave attributable to United Nations service—Common law remedy of per quod servitium amisit—Reimbursement by United Nations based on two criteria, 24 July 2001 | 390 | ||
| Personnel | ||||
| 4. | Release of UNRRA personnel files—Agreement between United Nations and United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration regarding transfer of assets and activities to United Nations—Restrictions on certain documents does not preclude access of son of deceased staff member to official status file, 2 March 2001 | 391 | ||
| Procedural and institutional issues | ||||
| 5. | Application for international patent protection for United Nations University’s Universal Network Language—Patent Cooperation Treaty application process—Status of United Nations University and its Rector, 29 March 2001 | 395 | ||
| 6. | Joint IPU/United Nations publication on Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol—Administrative instruction ST/AI/189 governs United Nations publications—Requirements to be met if published by IPU, by the United Nations, 19 June 2001 | 397 | ||
| 7. | Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements in the New Millennium with respect to mandate and status of Commission on Human Settlements and the mandate, role and function of Habitat—Options for reviewing and strengthening those bodies—Compatibility of standing committees and functional commissions establishing subsidiary bodies, 20 June 2001 | 399 | ||
| 8. | Status of World Tourism Organization in United Nations system—Deemed to be a “related organization” of the United Nations—Suggested formulation: WTO (Trade) and WTO (Tourism), 18 October 2001 | 401 | ||
| 9. | Constitution of a quorum of Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization—Rules of procedure of Preparatory Commission—“Members present and voting”, 31 October 2001 | 403 | ||
| 10. | Legal status of Global Ministerial Environmental Forum—Relationship between Forum and Governing Council of UNEP—Relationship between membership of Governing Council of UNEP and membership of (or modalities of participation in) Global Ministerial Environmental Forum, 20 November 2001 | 404 | ||
| 11. | Role of High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina—General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina—United Nations International Police Task Force—United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina—Relationship between High Representative and United Nations, 27 November 2001 | 407 | ||
| 12. | Legal status of Cine and Video Club—Proposed donation of audio-visual equipment to Organization—United Nations financial regulations 7.2 to 7.4 and financial rules 107.5 to 107.7—Option of Organization purchasing new audio-visual equipment, 10 December 2001 | 410 | ||
| Procurement | ||||
| 13. | United Nations practice concerning acceptance of voluntary contributions from its contractors—Actual and potential FAO contractors—United Nations financial regulations 7.2 to 7.4 and rules 107.5 to 107.7—Guidelines on cooperation between United Nations and business community, 17 May 2001 | 413 | ||
| 14. | Legal requirements for United Nations concert productions involving commercial and non-profit promoters or entities, 9 August 2001 | 416 | ||
| B. | Legal opinions of the secretariats of intergovernmental organizations related to the United Nations | 417 | ||
Part Three. Judicial decisions on questions relating to the United Nations and related intergovernmental organizations
| Chapter VII. Decisions and Advisory Opinions of International Tribunals | |
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| Arbitration Tribunal constituted by the Government of the French Republic and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to consider the question of the tax regime governing pensions paid to retired UNESCO officials residing in France | 421 | |||
| Chapter VIII. Decisions of National Tribunals | |
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| 1. | The Netherlands | |||
| The Hague District Court—Civil Law Division—President | ||||
| Judgement in interlocutory injunction proceedings of 31 August
2001 Plea of Slobodan Milošević for release from detention by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and returned to the territory of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia |
445 | |||
| 2. | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | |||
| (a) | High Court of Justiciary—30 March 2001 | |||
| Opinion of High Court involving the International Court of Justice advisory opinion on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons under international law | 450 | |||
| (b) | House of Lords | |||
| Shanning International Ltd v. Lloyds TSB Bank plc; Lloyds TSB Bank plc v. Rasheed Bank (28 June 2001) An appeal from the Court of Appeal concerning United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait |
491 | |||
| (c) | Queen’s Bench Division (Administrative Court) | |||
| R (on the application of Othman) v. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (28 November 2001) Judicial review of decision of the Secretary of Statefor Work and Pensions, involving United Nations Security Council sanctions in relation to the situation in Afghanistan and the Taliban |
507 | |||
| 3. | United States of America | |||
| (a) | United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | |||
| Franck Dujardin (Appellant) v. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, et al. (Appellees) (September Term, 2000) Immunization from defamation suit under International Organizations Immunities Act of 1945—Two sources of limitation to immunity |
517 | |||
| (b) | United States District Court for the District of Columbia | |||
| The World Bank, World Bank Publications, and Unknown Parties A, B, C, D, E, F and G (Defendants) (28 August 2001) Complaint of copyright infringement—Unfair tradepractices and unfair competition claims |
518 | |||
Part Four. Bibliography
| Bibliography | |
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| A. | International organizations and international law in general | |||
| 1. | General | 532 | ||
| 2. | Particular questions | 534 | ||
| B. | United Nations | |||
| 1. | General | 539 | ||
| 2. | Particular organs | 540 | ||
| General Assembly | 540 | |||
| International Court of Justice | 540 | |||
| Secretariat | 542 | |||
| Security Council | 542 | |||
| United Nations Forces | 543 | |||
| 3. | Particular questions or activities | 543 | ||
| Air and space law | 543 | |||
| Collective security | 543 | |||
| Commercial arbitration | 544 | |||
| Consular relations | 544 | |||
| Disarmament | 544 | |||
| Domestic jurisdiction | 545 | |||
| Environmental questions | 545 | |||
| Financing | 546 | |||
| Human rights | 546 | |||
| International criminal law | 550 | |||
| International economic law | 559 | |||
| International terrorism | 559 | |||
| International trade law | 559 | |||
| International waterways | 560 | |||
| Intervention | 560 | |||
| Law of the sea | 562 | |||
| Law of treaties | 566 | |||
| Law of war | 566 | |||
| Maintenance of peace | 567 | |||
| Membership and representation | 569 | |||
| Narcotic drugs | 570 | |||
| Natural resources | 570 | |||
| Non-governmental organizations | 570 | |||
| Peaceful settlement of disputes | 571 | |||
| Progressive development and codification of international law (in general) | 572 | |||
| Refugees | 573 | |||
| Right of asylum | 573 | |||
| Rule of law | 573 | |||
| Self-defence | 574 | |||
| Self-determination | 574 | |||
| State responsibility | 575 | |||
| State sovereignty | 575 | |||
| State succession | 576 | |||
| Trade and development | 576 | |||
| Use of force | 576 | |||
| C. | Intergovernmental organizations related to the United Nations | |||
| General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade | 576 | |||
| International Civil Aviation Organization | 576 | |||
| International Labour Organization | 577 | |||
| International Monetary Fund | 577 | |||
| United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization | 577 | |||
| World Bank | 577 | |||
| International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes | 578 | |||
| World Intellectual Property Organization | 578 | |||
| World Trade Organization | 578 | |||