CYIL Vol. 6, 2015

CAROLLANN BRAUM CYIL 6 ȍ2015Ȏ the first half of the twentieth century would not be repeated. 10 Therefore, as the United Nations itself was being formed, the states, many of whom had been crippled and devastated during the war, created a Security Council. 11 This Council would be made of five Permanent Members, who were in many ways the “victors” of the War and were considered to be the major world powers of the day: the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France and China. 12 Additionally, there would be six (this was later changed to be ten in 1966) places on the Council for other UN Member States to hold a two-year term as a Non-Permanent Member through election by the General Assembly. 13 The Council is governed, as all sectors of the United Nations are, by the United Nations Charter (hereinafter “the UN Charter”). There are several provisions that regulate the conduct of and dictate the actions of the Council; however, for purposes of our analysis, articles from Chapters I, V, and VII are of particular interest. These provisions relate directly to aggression and the Council’s role. To begin with, the United Nations as a whole, including the Council, is tasked under Chapter I, Article 1 with maintaining international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace. 14 We can consider this to be a key mandate of the Council as a primary body of the United Nations. This article is particularly interesting with respect to the role of the Court, being an organ of justice and created by international law. When we arrive at Chapter V of the UN Charter, which then speaks directly to the Security Council, we see that the Council has priority in the mandate of maintaining peace and security in Article 24(1): In order to ensure prompt and effective action by the United Nations, its Members confer on the Security Council primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and agree that in carrying out its duties under this responsibility the Security Council acts on their behalf. 15 10 BOSCO, David L., Five to Rule Them All: The UN Security Council and the Making of the Modern World , 2009. 11 Id . 12 THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL, The United Nations Foundation, URL: [cit. 2015-08-14]. 13 Id .

14 UN Charter, art. 1. 15 Id . at art. 24, para. 1.

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