United Nations Charter Interpretation

Author: Chief Editor: Xu Guangjian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-04-01
Features: Synopsis The Charter of the United Nations is a landmark document in the history of international relations and the fundamental law of the United Nations Organization. The purposes and principles of the Charter are not only the fundamental principles of the United Nations but also the basic guidelines for contemporary international relations. This book is an important achievement in the study of the Charter of the United Nations by China's legal and diplomatic circles. Its publication fills a gap in the field of Charter interpretation in China. The author provides a systematic explanation and commentary on the Charter, drawing on the rich practices of the international community over the past half century. The explanations are organized in the order of the Charter's chapters, articles, and items, with detailed analysis of each. The content includes the legislative background of the provisions, their legal meaning, their relationship with other provisions of the Charter, and their application in practice. For some important provisions, selected typical cases are introduced. For some controversial provisions, the author explains their understanding and views. This book serves both as an academic work and a reference tool. It is of great reference value to diplomats, practitioners in foreign-related fields, teaching and research personnel in international law and international relations, as well as a broad readership interested in international affairs. Excerpt: The Preamble of the Charter succinctly outlines the historical background of establishing an international organization, its fundamental objectives, the basic principles that countries should follow in international relations, the process of drafting the Charter and establishing the organization, and determines the name of the organization. "To save succeeding generations from the scourge of war," the Preamble, with its strongly emotional language, explains the historical context of the time. In fact, establishing an international organization to maintain good order in international relations was not a new idea but rather the inevitable result of the development of pacifism and internationalism since the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution, which began in the late 18th century, brought tremendous progress to human material civilization. The astonishing growth in population, the revolutionary developments in technologies such as steamships, railways, and telegraphs, and the rapid growth in domestic production and international trade transformed international economic and political relations fundamentally. People increasingly realized that if each country's government continued to focus solely on its own interests without considering those of other countries, the result would only be mutual losses. Therefore, there arose a demand to discuss and decide on certain issues on an international basis and to establish specialized international institutions with certain powers. One such type of international institution was the Danube Committee established at the Paris Conference in 1856. By the time of World War I, more than 30 similar organizations had been established, some of the more important being the International Telegraph Union (1865), the Universal Postal Union (1874), the International Agricultural Society of Rome (1905), and the International Health Bureau of Paris (1907). However, all these international organizations were specialized, and the idea of placing matters of international politics and issues involving major national interests, such as tariffs and immigration, under the management of international organizations was still considered impractical, even undiscussable. The so-called "European Concert," which originated at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, had no formal institutions, and its member states were not obligated to hold meetings. Although it successfully prevented several wars from breaking out, the desire of the great powers to maintain complete freedom of action made the hope of establishing an organized system a bubble. The two Hague Conferences established institutions for the peaceful settlement of international disputes, but the interest of the participating countries in drafting comprehensive rules of war law exceeded their interest in reducing armaments and preventing war. World War I was the first large-scale world war, and its outcome made the victors realize that the benefits of war were less than they had initially imagined, while the costs were greater than they had anticipated. This led them to seek ways to ensure that such wars would not happen again, which was the driving force behind the establishment of the League of Nations. However, the creation of the League of Nations was rushed in a short time and inevitably had many flaws. The post-war peace was based on the suppression and plunder of the defeated by the victors, and while peace was established, it also sowed the seeds of hatred and war. Therefore, it is not too much to say that the cause of World War II was already present at the end of World War I. The outbreak of World War II caused unprecedented devastation and impact on human society. Compared to the first world war, World War II had a wider scope, involving almost all countries to varying degrees; greater loss of life and material, with former powers like Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and Italy suffering catastrophic blows; and more brutal methods of warfare, especially the introduction of the atomic bomb as a weapon of mass destruction. And World War II broke out only 20 years after the first world war. All this forced people to deeply worry about the future and destiny of humanity, and the call for the international community to unite to prevent another world war was stronger than ever before. This constituted the special historical background for the establishment of the United Nations.