POTENTIAL ACTIONS FOR UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
Role of the General Assembly
Calling Emergency Session: Under Resolution 377, Uniting for Peace Resolution, there is a provision for calling for an emergency session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The UN General Assembly is the body of the United Nations that best upholds the principle of sovereign equality of states.
Invoking Article 22 to set up an International Tribunal:
Under Article 22 of the Charter of the United Nations, the UNGA has the power, if it passes a resolution, to set up an International Tribunal to try leaders of states engaged in acts of aggression.
Demanding compliance with Chapter VI of the Charter of the UN
Chapter VI calls for Peaceful Settlement of Disputes.
Under Chapter VI of the Charter of the United Nations entitled Peaceful Settlement of Disputes, a number of provisions have been established to bring about the peaceful settlement of disputes:
(i) The first provision is to counter conflict of interest in decision-making related to conflict.
Decisions under Chapter VI are constrained by Article 27, which reads that a party to a dispute shall abstain from voting.
(i) The second provision is recourse, under Article 36, to the rule of international law, through the International Court of Justice:
Article 36 reads....legal disputes should as a general rule be referred by the parties to the International Court of Justice in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of the Court.
Chapter 36 complements Chapter VI in outlining the role of the International Court of Justice:
ROLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
Under Chapter XIV, Article 92 states that the International Court of Justice shall be the principal judicial organ of the United Nations...and under Article 93 all members of the UN are ipso facto parties to the statute of the International Court of Justice, and under Article 94, each member of the United Nations undertakes to comply with the decision of the International Court of Justice in a case to which it is a party, and under Article 96 there is the provision for the UN General Assembly, UN Security Council and other organs of the UN to request the International Court of Justice to give an advisory opinion on any legal question.
UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT MADE A COMMITMENT TO STRENGHTEN THE ROLE OF THE UNGA
The current President of the UN General Assembly, H.E. Miguel D¹Escoto Brockmann, has indicated that he would like the UN General Assembly to have a more important role. He is also known for his respect for the international rule of law and for the International Court of Justice (he was Foreign Minister of Nicaragua when the important case of land mines was taken to the International Court of Justice).
