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1. Introduction:
As there is no international legislature and the international police force the only way by which
the international law can be passed and enforced, is the consent of the states. Its cannot be
expected that, every states will agree in different situation and subject matter so that a strong
international organization like United nations , need to do this for maintaining peace and security
of the whole world. A Law must be flexible and up to date as the situation and time, so the
international law also need to developed as the circumstances. The United Nations plays a vital
role in the development, codification of International law. The International Law Commission,
established by the General Assembly in 1948, is the primary institution responsible for these
activities.
1.1. The United Nations:
The United Nations is world's largest, foremost, and most prominent international organization.
The stated aims of the United Nations include promoting and facilitating cooperation in
international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights,
civil rights, civil liberties, political freedoms, democracy, and the achievement of lasting world
peace. The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of Nations, to stop
wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue. It contains multiple subsidiary
organizations to carry out its missions. Since 2011, the UN has 193 member states. From its
offices around the world, the UN and its specialized agencies decide on substantive and
administrative issues in regular meetings held throughout the year. The organization has six
principal organs:
1. General Assembly (the main deliberative assembly)
2. Security Council (for deciding certain resolutions for peace and security);
3. Economic and Social Council
(For assisting in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development)
4. Secretariat (for providing studies, information, and facilities needed by the UN)
5. International Court of Justice (the primary judicial organ)
6. United Nations Trusteeship Council (which is currently inactive)
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Due to its unique international character, and the powers vested in its founding Charter, the
Organization can take action on a wide range of issues. The work of the United Nations reaches
every corner of the globe. Although best known for peacekeeping, peace building, conflict

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http://www.un.org/en/aboutun/structure/index.shtml

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prevention and humanitarian assistance, there are many other ways the United Nations and its
System prevention and humanitarian assistance, there are many other ways the United Nations
and its System affect our lives and make the world a better place.
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1.2. International law:
International Law defines the legal responsibilities of States in their conduct with each other, and
their treatment of individuals within State boundaries. Its domain encompasses a wide range of
issues of international concern such as human rights, disarmament, international crime, refugees,
migration, problems of nationality, and the treatment of prisoners, the use of force, and the
conduct of war, among others. It also regulates the global commons, such as the environment,
sustainable development, international waters, outer space, global communications and world
trade.
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2. Relationship between international law and United Nations:
International law is a primary concern of the United Nations. The mandate for the activities in
this field emanates from the Charter of the United Nations which, in its Preamble, sets the goal
"to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties
and other sources of international law can be maintained. It is obvious that, in the world there
need a rules and regulation for the maintaining the peace and security and also need to enforced
that rules and regulation. As given above it is not easy to do because the philosophy of the states
will be different according to the point of view of theirs. So need a strong and effective
international organization, which is the United Nations.

3. Role of United Nations on the development of international law:
The United Nations, like the League of Nations, has played a major role in defining, codifying,
and expanding the realm of international law. The International Law Commission, established by
the General Assembly in 1948, is the primary institution responsible for these activities. Sixth
Committee (Legal) of the Generate may then either convene an international conference to draw
up formal conventions based on the draft or merely recommend the draft to states. The
International Court of Justice reinforces legal norms through its judgments. The commission and
the committee have influenced international law in several important domains, including the

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http://www.un.org/en/aboutun/index.shtml

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www.un.org/en/globalissues/internationallaw/

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laws of war; the law of the sea, human rights, and international terrorisms Assembly receives
the International Law commissions reports and debates its recommendations.

4. Impact of General Assembly in the development of international law:
The General Assembly is the main deliberative body of the United Nations. It is one of the six
principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations has equal
representation. Its powers are to oversee the budget of the United Nations, appoint the non-
permanent members to the Security Council, receive reports from other parts of the United
Nations and make recommendations in the form of General Assembly Resolutions. It has also
established a wide number of subsidiary organs.
4
The General Assembly has adopted a number
of multilateral treaties throughout its history which created a great impact on the development of
international law, including:
1. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948)
2. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965)
3. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)
4. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966)
5. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979)
6. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982)
7. Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
8. Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (1996)
9. International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (1999)
10. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006)
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A large number of committees exist as the Subsidiary Organs of the General Assembly. United
Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee (Legal) and the International Law commission are
the primary institution responsible for the development of International law. A brief discussion
about United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee (legal) and the International Law
Commission is given below:


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CHARTER OF THE UNITED NATIONS: Chapter IV.
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http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/internationallaw/

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4.1. United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee (Legal):
The United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee (Legal) is one of the main committees
of the United Nations General Assembly. The Sixth Committee is the primary forum for the
consideration of legal questions in the General Assembly. The UN General Assembly has an
express mandate to promote the progressive development of public international law. Article 13
of the UN Charter establishes, in particular, that the General Assembly shall initiate studies and
make recommendations for the purpose of: () encouraging the progressive development of
international law and its codification.
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Subsequent practice has interpreted this provision as a
broad authorization to elaborate new treaties on the widest range of issues, to adopt them, and to
recommend them to states for their subsequent signature, ratification, and accession, While
international law-making negotiations take place in a variety of specialized bodies of the United
Nations, depending on their actual subject-matter, those negotiations related to general
international law are usually held at the Sixth Committee. The Sixth Committee has universal
membership, that is, all member states of the United Nations are de jure members of the Sixth
committee. The following treaties and resolutions have been negotiated, as a whole or in part, at
the Sixth Committee:
1. The 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
2. The 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
3.The 1970 Declaration on Principles of International Law, Friendly Relations and Co-operation
among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations
4. The 1973 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally
Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents
5. The 1978 Vienna Convention on Succession of States in respect of Treaties (Protection of
Diplomats Convention)
6. The 1979 International Convention against the Taking of Hostages (Hostages Convention)
7. The 1995 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel
8. The 1994 Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism, Also 1996
Supplement to the Declaration, adopted by General Assembly resolution 51/210, 17 December
1996
9. The 1997 International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings (Terrorist
Bombing Convention)

6
United Nations General Assembly Rules of Procedure, art. 98; Alan Boyle and Christine Chinkin, The Making of
International Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007) pp. 116 117.
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10. The 1997 Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses
11. The 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
12. The 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism
(Terrorist Financing Convention)
13. The 2001 Draft Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts
14. The 2005 International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism
(Nuclear Terrorism Convention)
15. The 2005 United Nations Declaration on Human Cloning
Since 2000 the Sixth Committee has been elaborating a Comprehensive Convention on
International Terrorism to complement the existing counter-terrorism instruments. That proposed
treaty has not yet been adopted.
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4.2. International Law commission:
The International Law Commission was established by the United Nations General Assembly in
1948 for the promotion of the progressive development of international law and its
codification.
8
Several attempts have been made in the effort to codify international law. The
work which led to the International Law Commission was begun in the Resolution of the
Assembly of the League of Nations of 22 September 1924, which established the Committee of
Experts for the Progressive Codification of International Law. The United Nations adopted many
concepts of the League's resolution in Article 13, Paragraph 1 of the Charter of the United
Nations, which stated:
1. The General Assembly shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of
:(....) encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification.
As an expert legal body, its task is to prepare draft conventions on subjects, which have not yet
been regulated by international law and to codify rules of international law in fields, where there
already has been extensive State practice. International Law Commission since its inception in
1948 has been making great contributions towards the codification and progressive development
of international law. Its works in drafting several international conventions including the Geneva
Convention on the Law of the Sea, Vienna Conventions on diplomatic and consular relations,
Vienna Conventions on the Law of Treaties, are its commendable achievements. The

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly_Sixth_Committee_%28Legal%29

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United Nations General Assembly Resolution A-RES-174(II)
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Commissions endeavors are continuing not only in further codification of international law, but
also in its study, observation, appreciation, understanding and evaluation of the emerging norms
of international law and practices, as are so manifest in the proceedings of its annual sessions and
reports presented before the international community.
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Reservation is one of the thorny issues of the Law of Treaties. Although the conditions and
consequences of reservation have been fairly well laid down in the Conventions of 1969 and
1986, many things have remained ambiguous, as subsequent developments have so
demonstrated. This especially relates to reactions and objections of the other parties to the
impermissible and invalid reservations. The International Law commission has rightly taken up
the issue to shed light on these and other problems primarily based on the state intention and
practices.
Another area on which the International law commission is working is the interpretation of
treaties. The Study Group formed for the purpose has particularly focused on the significance of
the subsequent agreements and the subsequent practices of the parties as a means of the
interpretation and application of treaties which have long term perspective to continue to operate
i.e. Treaties over time. This relates to Article 31(3) (a) & (b) of the 1969 Vienna Convention.
Three Articles on the interpretation of treaties in the Convention contain all the necessary
ingredients and guidelines for the interpretation. To make out the intention of the parties is the
central point of the provisions on interpretation in the Convention. However, this intention is
presumed to be reflected in the text of the treaty. This is also ought to be conditioned by the
objective of the treaty as well as by the context and the circumstances under which the treaty was
signed.
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One of the problems regarding the work of the commission is the capability of governments to
ignore its conclusions and refrain from accepting its recommendations when formulating
conventions. However, it is not easy for any institution or individual to measure the outcome of
the totality of the state practices over any period of time. ILC can legitimately claim to be one
such institution which has the potentials, resources, experiences and urge to do the work
objectively.
5. Enforcement of international law and the Collective security system:
The system established by the United Nation for the maintenance of international peace and
security was intend to be comprehensive in its provisions and universal in its applications. It has
often termed a collective security system, since a wronged state was to be protected by all, and a
wrongdoer punished by all.
11
The Security Council of the United Nations, international law and

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http://untreaty.un.org/ilc/ilcintro.htm

10
M. A. Mobarak and Professor M. Shah Alam , Comments of the Law Commission 1
st
ed.(Eastern law publishers)
11
Malcolm N.shaw ,International Law, Fourth edition(Cambridge University Press)
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the International court of justice are directly related with each and other. In recent time rapidly
increased range and activity of the Security Council and the International court of justice. The
International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in
the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Its main functions are to settle legal disputes
submitted to it by states and to provide advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by
duly authorized international organs, agencies, and the UN General Assembly. Article 94
establishes the duty of all UN members to comply with decisions of the Court involving them. If
parties do not comply, the International Law may be taken before the Security Council for
enforcement action.

6. Criticism of the United Nations:
Ok, it is true that United Nations plays a vital role in the development of international Law. The
question arises why we need laws? The obvious answer will be, for maintaining the peace and
security but why the United Nations cannot handle international conflicts, even on a small scale?
Unlike the General Assembly, the United Nations Security Council does not have true international
representation. There are five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (China,
France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States), who are all nuclear powers, have
created an exclusive nuclear club whose powers are unchecked. In recent time most of the
violations of International Law are made permanent members of the United Nations Security
Council. Osama bin Laden was killed by US special operation forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on
May 2, 2011.
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The United States has declared that bin Laden's death is a great victory in its war
on terrorism. But by executing cross-border military actions, the US has in fact violated the
international law, infringing on Pakistan's sovereignty and integrity. That is one example of the
violation of International Law by them. Invasion in Iraq and Afghanistan are worst example of
violation of International Law made by USA but what did United Nations do? Nothing .United
Nations acts when and only when USA wants it to act. Why United Nations has taken any action
against USA and UK as it is now amply clear that there were no weapons of mass Destruction in
Iraq, we all knows very well that is only because they are powerful. The substantive
development of law means it should be enforced and equal for all which the United Nations
failed to provide.



12
http://www.google.com.bd/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&ved=0CEAQFjAC&url=http
%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcnews.com%2Fid%2F33831784%2Fns%2Fworld_news-
united_states_special_operations_forces%3Fq%3DUnited%2520States%2520Special%2520Operations%2520Force
s&ei=G05TUZLqLc7IrQf2gIGIAw&usg=AFQjCNGfwGvW_L7-
Bl8dVbjmG5Q6VYS6xg&sig2=8QtKrzP4ZOiWu6_vsq0bVA

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7. Conclusion:
It should be bear in mind that, many problems are exist but those are not reducing the importance
of United Nations. Still now the United Nations can play a vital for the batter enforcement of
International law and also the development of it. Non-nuclear power states should be in the
security council of the United Nations. Veto power of the permanent members is reducing the
effectiveness of United Nations. It should be done in democratic way, by the consent of the
majority of the nations. Equal representation should be existed for balancing the power.
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References:
1. Malcolm N.shaw, International Law, Fourth edition (Cambridge University Press)
2. Martin Dixon, Textbook on International Law, sixth edition (Oxford University Press)
3. Arif Khan, INTERNATIONAL LAW AND HUMEN RIGHTS BANGLADESH
PRESPECTIVE (CCB foundation)
4. Hari Om Agarwal , International Law & Human Rights, (Central Law Publications)