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The Legal Status, Privileges and Immunities of the Specialized Agencies*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2017

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Type
Notes on Legal Questions Concerning the United Nations
Information
American Journal of International Law , Volume 42 , Issue 4 , October 1948 , pp. 900 - 906
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of International Law 1948

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Footnotes

*

Prepared at the editor's request by Miss Kwen Chen, Department of Political Science,University of Michigan.

References

1 There are now nine such agencies which have entered into relationship with the United Nations in accordance with Articles 57 and 63 of the United Nations Charter. They are:The International Labor Organization (ILO) ; the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO);the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) ;the International Monetary Fund (FUND); the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (BANK);the World Health Organization (WHO);the Universal Postal Union(UPU);and the International Telecommunications Union(ITU).

2 Agreements with ILO, UNESCO, FAO and ICAO were approved by the United Nations General Assembly at the second part of its first session. For the texts o f these agreements, see UN Docs. A/72, A/77, A/78, and A/106, Sept. 30, 1946; GeneralAssembly Journal, No. 64, Supp. A—A/P.V./65, p. 732. Agreements with UPU, WHO,FUND, BANK and ITU were approved by the General Assembly at its second session.See General Assembly Journal, No. 54, p. 6. For the texts of these agreements, see UN Docs. A/347, A/348, A/349, Sept. 2, 1947; and A/370, Sept. 9, 1947.

3 See UN Docs. A/339, Aug. 20, 1947; A/C.6/148, Sept. 29, 1947; A/C.6/191,Nov. 15, 1947; A/503, Nov. 20, 1947.

4 General Assembly resolution 179 ( I I ) , Nov. 21, 1947; A/519, Jan. 8, 1948, p. 112.

5 The International Organizations Immunities Act o f the United States, 1945, applied to FAO, ILO, UNESCO, ICAO and ITU, by Executive Orders nos. 9698 and 9863. See Public Law 291, 79th Cong., and Federal Register,Yol. 11, No. 36 (Feb. 20, 1946), p.1809, and Vol. 12, No. 108 (June 3, 1947), p. 3559; the British Diplomatic Privileges(Extension) Act, 1944, together with the 1946 Amendment to the Act; the Canadian Treaties of Peace (Status of International Labour Organization) Order, Aug. 14, 1941;and the Chinese Order No. 4411 of the Executive Yuan, Feb. 19, 1943, extending privileges and immunities to the ILO.

6 For agreement between the Swiss Federal Council and the International Labor Organization concerning the legal status o f the ILO in Switzerland, and the Arrangement for the execution of this agreement which came into force on May 27, 1946, see International Labour Office—Official Bulletin,Vol.XXIX, No.2, Aug. 31, 1946. For Draft Agreement between the Swiss Federal Council and WHO, see Official Record o f WHO,No. 4, p. 81.7

7 Art. 47 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.

8 It may be mentioned that ILO had also proposed a Convention on Privileges and Immunities for the Organization and its Members (for text see ILO—Official Bulletin,Vol. X XIX , No. 4, pp. 343-359). It was later suspended by a decision of the ILO in order to permit the adoption under the auspices of the United Nations of a single General Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Specialized Agencies.

9 Art. XV (italics added).

10 Journal o f the General Assembly,First Session, No. 34 (March 7, 1946), pp. 704705.

11 Journal o f the General Assembly,Second Session, No. 60, pp. 3-4. The resolution was adopted at the 123rd plenary meeting of the General Assembly. At the preliminary stage of discussion, two procedural problems came up for determination: (1) whether the coordination and unification of privileges and immunities of the United Nations and the specialized agencies should be brought about by means of a single convention applicable to all the specialized agencies, or by some other means, such as by the drawing up o f a model convention to be recommended to each specialized agency; the decision was in favor of the former method; (2) whether, i f a single convention had been accepted in principle, a special conference should be summoned in connection with this convention, or whether this convention should be accepted definitely by the General Assembly of the United Nations; the decision was in favor of the latter.

12 See Secs. 4-12.

13 See Secs. 13-17.

14 See Secs. 18-23.

15 In connection with this provision, the delegations of Canada, Egypt, and the USSR placed on record that they could not commit their governments to any exemptions of the salaries of officials who are their own nationals. See UN Doc. A/503, Nov. 20, 1947,p. 10. The United States had previously made a reservation to the provisions of the General Convention in this respect on the grounds that the right to exempt United States nationals from taxation and from national service obligations was a prerogative of the United States Congress. UN Doc. A/43/Rev.l.

16 See Sec. 20. This provision is largely a compromise as a result of the reservations made by certain countries to the provision of the General Convention in this respect.In discussing the Headquarters Agreement between the United Nations and the United States, the sub-committee in charge observed that “ i f the complete exemption of all officials of United States nationality from such obligations (i.e., national service) could not be accepted,it is most desirable that there should be no possibility of the work of the United Nations being hampered by the calling up of such officials.” See Report of the Sixth Committee, UN Doc. A/427, Oct. 27, 1947, p. 7. The present provision accords with this opinion, and the delegation of the USSR made a special reservation as to the attitude of its government with regard to this matter. UN Doc. A/503, Nov. 20,1947, p. 11.

17 These provisions are based on Sec. 13 (b) of the Headquarters Agreement between the United Nations and the United States. Another safeguard against abuse of privileges and immunities is provided by the resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations, adopted on Feb. 13, 1946, that the Secretary General be instructed to assure that the drivers of all official motor cars of the United Nations and all members of the staff who own or drive motor cars should be properly insured agains third-party risks. UN Doc. A/64, p. 33.

18 These constitutions provide for either a reference to the court or a decision by the executive organs o f the respective agencies or by arbitration: Arts. 84-86 of ICAO;Art. X IV of UNESCO; Arts. 26, 29, 31 and 37 of ILO; Arts. 75 and 76 of WHO;Art. 15 of ITU; Art. 11 of UPU; Art. XXX VII of FAO; Art. XV III of the FUND and Art. IX of the BANK.

19 Sec. 32 of the Present Convention. Cf.provisions in the agreements between the United Nations and the specialized agencies.

20 See the particular sections of the constitutions of these agencies as indicated in note 18 above. It should be noted that the General Assembly of the United Nations,at its second session, adopted three resolutions on the “ Need for Greater Use by the United Nations and its organs of the International Court of Justice.” . Journal o f the General Assembly,No. 53, pp. 8-9. The first resolution recommends that organs of the United Nations and the specialized agencies, when duly authorized, should refer certain questions of principle, in particular, points of law, relating to the interpretation of the Charter of the United Nations or the constitutions of the specialized agencies,to the Court for an advisory opinion.

21 Annexes II, III, IV, and VII.

22 Annexes V and VI. Such immunity from taxation would be granted when (1)the discrimination against such obligation or security is solely because of its origin;or (2) the sole jurisdictional basis for such taxation is the place or the currency in which it is issued, made payable or paid, or the location of any office or place of business maintained by the FUND (BANK).

23 Par.2,AnnexV(VI) .

24 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly in connection with the Present Con vention, Appendix B, Resolution II. See UN Doc. A/503, Nov. 20, 1947, p. 44