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Contemporary Problems of International Organization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2017

Pitman B. Potter
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Editorial Comment
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American Journal of International Law , Volume 59 , Issue 2 , April 1965 , pp. 291 - 304
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of International Law 1965

References

* This editorial is written as of December, 1964

1 For the most reliable data see Yearbook of International Organizations, published by the Union of International Associations (cited hereafter as Yearbook and TJIA) in Brussels; in the prospectus to the December, 1964, edition of this work it is stated that there existed, at that time, 179 inter-governmental international organizations and 1718 non-governmental ones. Hereafter the 1963-64 edition is cited. See review of 1964-1965 edition, below, p. 423.

The whole world of non-governmental international organizations is omitted from this discussion. See Yearbook 305-1419, and article in International Associations, published by TJIA, June 6, 1962, p. 403. These NGO's are often of great importance and maintain an elaborate system of consultative relations with the U.N.: Yearbook 95-105. A world commercial satellite communications enterprise was approved by eighteen countries in Washington in July, 1964. See 51 Dept. of State Bulletin 281 (Aug. 24, 1964), and note by Simsarian, this JOURNAL, p. 344.

2 The American delegate to the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development on April 17, 1964, objected to the creation of a new U.N. capital development fund demanded by 28 Latin American, African, and Asian countries, partly on the ground that “ it would … have to compete with existing international institutions.” United Press International (UPI) dispatch, Geneva, that date. (For recent events and utterances, on which this study is largely based, it is necessary to use press dispatches, which are to be found in any large newspaper such as the New York Times.) See also discussion of a combination of E.E.C. and E.F.T.A., advocated both to simplify international machinery and for economic reasons, in an address by the Danish Premier, reported in the press on June 8, 1964. On the other hand, a leading columnist demands more “international machinery” to handle Southeast Asian problems (Lippmann, May 28, 1964), and the Soviet Union has recently advocated “an international commission” to regulate and control arms deliveries to the Middle East (June 2, 1964). Strange entities appear from time to time: an European Space Launcher Development Organization (intergovernmental), Associated Press (AP), London, Nov. 18, 1964; the Paris Club (seemingly an offshoot of the IMF), UPI, Paris, Nov. 8, 1964.

3 The use of this term, in contrast to voluntary international co-operation, and the meaning attached to the general term “international organization,” will appear in the course of the discussion, as well as its relation to international federation, contrasted with unitary government (and denned either by the source of its authority or its application).

4 For expanded treatment, see work on Institutions and Functions of International Organization, in preparation by the present writer, especially Ch. 13.

5 Apart from the literature on the TJ.N., see work cited in note 4 above, Appendix D. A large section of the Sixth World Congress of the International Political Science Association, held in Geneva in September, 1964, was devoted to problems of international organization. In this study it is not intended to explore to any great extent contemporary secondary literature in the field

6 See note 2 above.

7 Not to mention the States of the United States and the Swiss Cantons, which also claim to be “sovereign.” See list of 113 “sovereign states” participating in the United Nations and the Specialized Agencies in 1962, Yearbook 91; the presently increasing activity of the Holy See may be noted; the membership of the U.N. had risen to 115 by 1964; a dozen other “sovereign states” may also be found, see Yearbook 93, notes 1-6.

8 Barring a possible return of national tutelage in some modified form or the further development of international territorial administration. See discussion in connection with national and international aid, p. 300 below.

9 A spokesman for the European Economic Community's Commission recently warned the Western European Union against “the growing flood of nationalism throughout Europe,” UPI, Rome, June 23, 1964. The terms “international” and “imported“ still hold prestigious value, but on the other side “foreign” and “alien” remain somewhat pejorative. On the other hand, it has been argued in most responsible quarters that fear of the nuclear bomb alone has welded together an international community, a community of fear, perhaps, as has no other factor: The New Yorker, June 13,1964, pp. 136, 140, quoting Rabinowitch, The Atomic Age.

10 Res. 1881, 1884, 1904, General Assembly, 18th Sess., Official Records, Supp. No. 15 (A/5515), pp. 13, 19, 35.

11 Tourism is now a multibillion-dollar industry, as indicated in a recent O.E.C.D. study, Touring in O.E.C.D. Member Countries 1964, O.E.C.D. Publication No. 17,869 (1964). Some countries have begun to protest against the influx of tourists. To this should be added mention of the Olympic Games (with their difficult mixture of nationalism and internationalism), international music and film festivals, villes jumelles, and so on.

12 “International Education, A Brief Analysis,” in New Goliards, No. 4, Aix-en- Provence, 1965. But see critical report to Institute of International Education on this activity, reported in the press June 18, 1964.

13 See discussion on Feb. 29, 1964, at Conference on Soviet Impact on International Law at Duke University, U. S. Department of State, External Research Paper 156, May, 1964, pp. 8-10.

14 E.C.S.C., E.E.C., E.F.T.A., G.A.T.T., etc. On all of these organizations and agencies, see Yearbook 77, 109 f., 212, etc., and European Community, cited in note 39 below.

15 See especially much recent discussion of reform of the International Monetary Fund, and concurrent discussion of monetary integration among the Six.

16 See discussion on Feb. 29, 1964, cited in note 13, pp. For recent developments, see Changing East-West Relations and the Unity of the West (ed. by A. Wolfers, Baltimore, 1964).

17 See the lively interest and comment in Europe and elsewhere on the recent Presidential election in the United States, not to mention comment in Washington on the régime of General de Gaulle (Fulbright: “de Gaulle view … reactionary“), and world-wide comment on the choice of Mr. Nehru's successor and on the retirement of Mr. Khrushchev. On June 4, 1964, Mr. Stikker, Secretary General of NATO, while protesting that he did not wish to become involved in American politics, said that Europeans “might get disturbed” if Senator Goldwater should win the Republican Presidential nomination; in a similar manner U.N. Secretary General U Thant called for an explanation of the demotion of Mr. Khrushchev, Oct. 22, 1964. Polish leader Gomulka and Russian Premier Khrushchev, echoing world-wide opinion, unofficial and semi-official (leading British and German newspapers argued that “what happened at San Francisco concerns us all“), denounced the Republican Party platform adopted at San Francisco on July 16, 1964, and the acceptance speech of Presidential nominee Goldwater, July 21, 1964. President Johnson sent a message to Chancellor Erhard in connection with the conflict of views between the latter and party opponents in Germany, UPI, Munich, July 12, 1964; the U. S. Department of State declared its support of Prime Minister Wilson in the matter of Bhodesia, AP, Washington, Oct. 28, 1964. The President of the United States, acting under Congressional statute of 1959, still proclaims “Captive Nations Week,” UPI, Washington, June 21, 1964. Diplomatic establishments of even “friendly” countries are made the objects of hostile political demontrations and destruction.

18 Or of the government of a “new” nation; see discussion by Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home before a press association luncheon in London on April 10, 1964, AP, London, that date. In a Commencement address at the Coast Guard Academy on June 3, 1964, President Johnson revealed that the United States was combating “subversion“ by means of 344 “teams” in 49 different countries. 50 Dept. of State Bulletin 951 (1964).

19 Particularly the International Law Commission of the U.N., the Geneva Conferences on the Law of the Sea, and two conferences in Vienna on diplomatic and consular status repreand privileges. The TT.N. General Assembly has taken action on several occasions recently to promote study of and respect for international law: Resolution for a Juridical Tear Book, Dec. 18, 1962; Resolutions 1966 and 1968 of Dec. 16, 1963, on Principles of International Law, etc., and to promote teaching and application of international law (18th Sess., Official Records, Supp. No. 15 (A/5515), pp. 70, 71).

20 For example, the American and other national societies of international law and political science (see note 5 above) and the “non-governmental” International Commission of Jurists at Geneva (Yearbook 585).

21 See reference in note 36 below. For a very stimulating exploration of the future, see Friedmann, W., The Changing Structure of International Law (London and New York, 1964).Google Scholar

22 Summarized in McClure, W., World Legal Order (Chapel Hill, 1960).Google Scholar

23 See D. W. Bowett, The Law of International Institutions (London, 1963).

24 This means adding hundreds or thousands of new consuls and diplomats. Groups of young people from underdeveloped countries are studying international relations and diplomacy in Geneva, Paris, London, Washington, and elsewhere. The U.N. has inaugurated a “Training Program for Foreign Service Officers from Newly Independent Countries,” Press Release TA/1220, Jan. 15, 1964, and has for a number of years past arranged for intern training of promising junior civil servants of less developed countries in various specialized organizations.

25 A. Toynbee, ‘ ‘ The Proletarian Peoples,'’ originally prepared for the Observer Foreign News Service, London, under the title “ A Revolutionary Change,” cited in New York Herald Tribune, Nov. 11, 1960, p. 4.

26 For the United States see, inter alia, statement by Secretary of State Dean Busk on Sept. 18, 1962, New York Times, Sept. 19, 1962, p . 1; also Key Officers of Foreign Service Posts, a new Department of State publication, May, 1964. Great Britain will institute once more a united foreign service in 1965. Reuters, London, March 16, 1964.

27 For example, the professional staffs of the permanent delegations and missions to international organizations in Geneva also number several hundred persons. Permanent Missions to the United Nations, published by the U.N.

28 Newsweek, April 13, 1964, p. 11.

29 Examples are too numerous and familiar to require citation. It is to be specifically noted, however, that the demand for adequate preliminary preparation before any summit meeting is held, is becoming stronger: “ I feel that a summit meeting is only useful when the basic prerequisites have been agreed t o , “ said Greek Prime Minister Papandreou to President Johnson. HT, June 29, 1964. Prime Minister Wilson recently advocated annual summit meetings “ o f the principal nations.” UPI, London, Oct. 5, 1964.

30 On the “hotline “ see 49 Dept. of State Bulletin 50 (1963); the matter was referred to in the U.N. General Assembly on Dec. 7, 1964, by Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko.

31 Including Gatt, the U.N., etc., although the action here rises to a higher level. AP, London, May 1, 1964. See, for example, Herman Walker, , “Dispute Settlement: the Chicken War,” 58 A.J.I.L. 671 (1964)Google Scholar. Mediation is warmly recommended by partisans but also encounters opposition (difficulty of application in “Vietnam, especially during July, 1964; Greek refusal to negotiate with Turkey over the situation in Cyprus in spite of American, British and U.N. mediation, July, 1964). There have even been complaints that we have today trop de bons offices. Gazette de Lausanne, July 2, 1964, p . l .

32 On the agencies and individuals concluding agreements, see, for example: “The United States and the European Atomic Energy Commission today agreed … , “ UPI, Brussels, May 27, 1964. The continuing practice of making “treaties” with what were formerly called “native peoples” should also be noted, Reuters, London, May 4, 1964. The United States still practices the “executive agreement,” and a recent case was an agreement between the “deputy head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and a Soviet Academician,” AP, Geneva, June 7, 1964. There has recently been “preliminary agreement” between “United States and Soviet scientists” on protection of astronauts (Reuters, Geneva, June 5, 1964) concerning which it was noted that the agreement would have to be approved by “the governments“! See, finally, the draft on the law of treaties of the International Law Commission, in U.N. General Assembly Doc. A/CN.4/173, July 30, 1964. The draft is reprinted in 59 A.J.I.L. 210, 434 (1965).

33 Somé movement, though very slight, appears to be noticeable in the direction of representation and voting power on some basis of proportionality; see earlier study by D. P. Myers, , “The Bases of International Relations,” 31 A.J.I.L. 431 (1937)Google Scholar, and reference to Riches in note 46 below. The United States was reported recently to have proposed a scheme of representation in proportion to contributions to U.N. peace-keeping operations. AP, New York, Sept. 15, 1964.

34 See Q. Wright, ‘ ‘ The Mode of Financing Unions of States as a Measure of Their Degree of Integration,” in International Organization (Winter, 1957), p. 30.

35 European Economic Community administrative personnel, numbering over 7,000, are unionized, demand wage increases (threatening strikes), and advocate merger of agencies of all Community institutions (E.E.C., E.C.S.C, E.A.E.C.), Time, March 13, 1964, p. 35. The question of denationalizing the international functionary has been seriously debated by an experienced veteran, Pablo de Ascarate, in Tribune de Genéve, April 8, 1964; also C. W. Jenks, “Some Problems of an International Civil Service,” in 3 Public Administration review (Chicago), No. 2 (Spring, 1943).

36 See “Relative “Values of International Relations, Law and Organizations,” in 54 A.J.I.L. 379 (1960). Some attention is given to this problem in the work by Bowett, cited in note 23. There has also been a curious obsolescence of claims commissions (56 A.J.I.L. 728 (1962), citing work by B. B. Lillich). On the other hand, the new organizations of the European community have developed powerful courts of their own: G. Bebr, Judicial Control of the European Communities (London, 1962); the U.N. and various other unions have their own administrative courts. On the general problem, see C. W. Jenks, Prospects of International Adjudication (London, 1964), for a very balanced view.

37 Fear of submitting to adjudication is of course a tribute to its force and value. On the attitude of Soviet Russia toward such action, see discussion at Conference cited in note 13 above. At the same place, see discussion of Soviet Russia and treaty law and international organization in general. See also S. Rosenne, The International Court of Justice (Leyden, 1957), for a general approach, and Jenks, cited above.

38 The term is used here to mean any juridical union of two or more states for common action, usually, if not necessarily, through a delegated agency. No reference will be made to so-called national federal unions or unions on the border between the national and international spheres, although some very interesting cases of this kind (Southern Arabia, Tanzania) have recently arisen. European federation as a general political program is dragging; see note 39 below. The whole problem of the (British) Commonwealth becomes more and more acute as its composition changes and new types of issues arise; see last Commonwealth Conference reports in July, 1964, especially Newsweek, July 20, 1964, p. 30 (“British family of nations: a force or a farce?“).

39 NATO, CENTO, SEATO, ANZTJS, etc.; E.E.C., E.F.T.A., G.A.T.T., etc.; I.B.B.D., I.M.F. See, in addition to Yearbook 108, etc., and especially on the second group, European Community (monthly) and The European Community 1950-1964, published by European Community Information Service, London. One student claims, however, that neither these European unions nor their judicial organs may be judged in the light of traditional federation and adjudication. Bebr, note 36 above. Much could be learned from the experience of NATO and its members particularly, both in the efforts to improve that regional federal alliance in recent days and also from a study of the movement for European political union (including demands for a supranational parliamentary government for such a union, popular elections, plural citizenship, common currency, identification cards, etc.). See also summary in Yearbook 178-180, and discussions in the International Political Science Association Congress, cited in note 5 above.

40 For mild repudiations of sovereignty see speech by TJ.N. Secretary General U Thant in Upsala(AP, Upsala, May 6, 1964) and article by former U. S. Ambassador Clare Booth Luce in New York Herald Tribune, June 2, 1964, relying largely on a statement by Secretary of State Dean Busk to the effect t h a t ‘ ‘ absolute sovereignty is an outmoded concept.“

41 U.N. Charter, Preamble, pars. 1 and 2.

42 Waiving for the moment the idea that war is on its way out automatically, although the British Prime Minister apparently said recently that the world's great nuclear Powers had “decided that they can not fight” (AP, London, April 10, 1964). Peace has actually been preserved in the world since 1945 by this mutual fear on the part of Russia and the United States or, more particularly, by the deterrent power of the latter. See, as evidence of persisting optimism, Resolution of the General Assembly, No. 1931, Dec. 11, 1963, on “Conversion to Peaceful Needs of the Resources Released by Disarmament,“ General Assembly, 18th Sess., Official Records, Supp. No. 15 (A/5515), p. 25.

43 See Bes. 1897 adopted by the General Assembly in 1963, 18th Sess., Official Records, Supp. No. 15 (A/5515), p. 24, and annex. Some 75 Member States have signed this unique register as if applying for a privileged status, which, indeed, they were. HT, June 6, 1964, p. 2. Some 25 countries were also recently on record as desiring further Peace Corps aid from the United States. UPI, New York, Nov. 23, 1964.

44 Development assistance work (DAC) within O.E.C.D. A great deal of such aid has been extended by and through the U.N., I.B.B.D. and I.M.F. and other international agencies, mention must be made of the TJ.N. Decolonization Committee, but this contrasts strongly with the billions given by individual states. The recent effort of the less developed countries to secure control of G.A.T.T. or obtain a new organization in its place should also be noted, AP, Geneva, April 22 and June 2, 1964. The same factor has repeatedly arisen in connection with the operation of U.N. Specialized Agencies. AP, Paris, Oct. 20, 1964, on UNESCO membership debates.

45 F.A.O. Constitution, Art. 3; I.L.O. Constitution, Art. 17. The U.N. General Assembly itself may deal with some matters by majority vote (Charter, Art. 18); in spite of the concrete and limited character of these matters, this is technically “legislation“; it has long existed in a similar form in a few independent international organizations. One student has asserted that: “The abolition of the unanimity rule in the United Nations is categorical and complete. Virtually no trace of it remains in any of the principal or subsidiary organs of the United Nations or in the Constitutions of any of the Specialized Agencies.” S. Rosenne, “United Nations Treaty Practice,” in 86 Hague Academy of International Law, Receuil des Cours (1954) 314 (Leyden, 1955). This seems somewhat of an exaggeration!

46 Some progress has been made in breaking down the dogma of equality of voting power; see note 33 above, and C. 0. Riches, Majority Rule in International Organization, Ch. X (Baltimore, 1940). See also the qualification of one-state-one-vote principle in the membership of delegations to the General Conference of the I.L.O. (coupled with Arts. 4 and 17 of its Constitution) and the institution of “multiple voting” in the I.T.U. Discussion of modifications in voting in the U.N. has already begun, AP, Washington, June 21, 1964. And when it was recently proposed to create a new international trade organization, the question of “voting arrangements” was specifically held over “for further study by an expert group.'’ HT, June 15, 1964, p. 3.

47 Reference is made here to military action. On non-military aspects of seeking compliance with international law, see 1964 Proceedings of the American Society of International Law.

48 Kashmir, Congo, Cyprus, Greece, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Lebanon, New Guinea, Suez, Yemen. See brilliant summary in article, “Posse for Peace,” by J.J. Sisco in 41 Foreign Service Journal 22 (1964). For enforcement action by O.A.S., see UPI, Washington, June 26 and July 26, 1964.

49 Just what powers the U.N. forces can properly exercise in the field (arranging a truce, firing except in defense, arrest and deportation of persons, seizure of property?) remain to be determined. AP, Nicosia, July 17, and Leopoldville, July 21, 1964; AP, New York, Aug. 9, 1964.

50 See articles by Sohn, 52 A.J.I.L. 229 (1958), and Halderman, 56 AJIL. 971 (1962). The U.N. Military Staff Committee (Charter, Art. 47) has been idle in this matter through 500 meetings (AP, New York, Aug. 3, 1964). Great Britain put forward the idea of a conference on the subject of a U.N. police force some time ago, followed by Canada, which is sponsoring a preparatory conference on the subject. HT, Feb. 22, May 19, Oct. 22, 1964. The United States had already indicated a similar position and joined with other countries in agreeing to train U.N. troops, UPI, New York, Nov. 1, 1964. A recent Gallup poll reported a strong majority of public opinion in the United States in favor of the general principle, AP, Princeton, May 29, 1964. Finally came a Russian proposal looking in the same direction, which is still under consideration, Reuters, Washington, July 8, 1964, and London, July 12; Newsweek, July 20, 1964. \

51 Raising the old questions of joint command (AP, Paris, June 4, 1964) and equipment. France recently broke away from NATO on this point, AP, Paris, June 9, 1964. On the U. S. proposed multilateral force, land and sea, under NATO (MLF), the discussion continued throughout 1964.

52 Analyzed in Yearbook 37

53 Introduction to Annual Report on the Work of the Organization, November, 1964. General Assembly, 19th Sess., Official Records, Supp. No. 1A (A/5801/Add. 1).

54 At this point the U.N. approaches the level of “international territorial administration“ (not to mention the “trusteeship” system); so for repeated demands for U.N. police forces and “observers” in Southeast Asia, Yemen, and elsewhere. HT, May 5 and 12, and June 10, 1964. In press references the U.N. begins to be personified: “The UN also favors“; “The UN is withdrawing its troops,” etc. AP, Geneva, March 22, 1964; HT, June 29, 1964 , p. 4. Also appeals have been put forward for U.N. intervention even in local problems, as in British Guiana and South Africa, UPI, London, July 6; Reuters, New York, June 15; and AP, New York, June 18, 1964; not to mention Cuba, HT, July 11, 1964. U.N. action has also at times come to be preferred to direct negotiation, notably regarding Cuba and Cyprus. HT, July 11, 1964, p. 4; AP, London, July 21, 1964.

55 For origins of the problem: AP, Moscow, April 1, 1964; HT, June 16, 1964, p. 4. However, as recognized in the Charter, Art. 19, the difficulties of some countries in paying their assessments are simply due to their economic conditions. The finance problem remained unsettled at the end of December, 1964. It is worthy of note that the International Court of Justice has long since, by a 9-to-5 vote, ruled in support of the U.N. in the matter of the peace-keeping activities contributions of Members (Advisory Opinion, July 20, 1962, later accepted by the General Assembly by a vote of 76 to 17, with 8 abstentions). A new approach to the problem is made by R. F. and H. J. Taubenfeld in “Independent Revenue for the UN,” International Organization (Spring, 1964), p. 241.

56 Mr. U Thant has been referred to as “the present head” of the U.N. (HT, April 24, 1964, p. 12), as “commander in chief of the UN peace-keeping force on Cyprus” (UPI, New York, March 18), and even as “the UN's boss” (Newsweek, June 29). On the general problem, see R. W. Cox, “The Executive Head: an Essay in the Comparative Study of Heads of International Organizations,” in the records of the International Political Science Association meeting cited in note 5.

57 Term employed in the Statute of the International Court of Justice, Art. 38, par. lc. Relaxation of remaining elements of Communist or/and capitalist imperialism must also obviously be demanded. Indeed the over-all crucial problem in contemporary international organization lies precisely in the conflict between the policy o f peaceful co-existence and the policy of violent extermination (of the other fellow).