Suchergebnisse

"A victim of man's inhumanity to man, the refugee has been with us since the beginning of history." History records the expulsion of the Moors and Jews from Spain, the scattering of the Huguenots to all corners of Europe, the departure of the émigrés during the French Revolution, the migration of the United Empire Loyalists, and the lengthy exodus of minority groups and sects from Europe to settle in North America. It was not until the twentieth century with its cataclysmic wars and revolutions, however, that the problem reached epic proportions and the international community became sufficiently organized to make serious efforts to manage the refugee movement on a global scale.

One of the principal achievements of the United Nations is its work in codifying and developing international law. The International Law Commission, created in 1949, a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly, is the chief agency of the United Nations for achieving these tasks. The Chairman of the Commission at its sixteenth session, Professor Roberto Ago of Italy, stated in the Commission on July 16, 1964, that if the codification work which was now taking place in that body could be completed and accepted by states, progress would have been made without precedent since the time of Grotius.So well-established has the International Law Commission become on the international scene that it is almost surprising to recall that the existence of this body rests, not on any specific wording of the United Nations Charter calling for the creation of such a body of experts, but on the general phraseology of Article 13 of the Charter which provides that "the General Assembly shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of: (a) promoting … and encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification." In the space of seventeen years the International Law Commission has achieved widespread recognition for the high quality of its work; it would be no exaggeration to say that it has come to be regarded as rivaling in importance the work of the International Court of Justice. As "the principal judicial organ of the United Nations," as successor to the Permanent Court of Justice — a new feature of international institutions in the modern era — and as the highest international judicial tribunal, the International Court of Justice is regarded, in the general scheme of the Charter, as an exceptionally prestigious body.

In the Latter Part of the last decade, when it began to become apparent that vehicles or devices carrying nuclear weapons could be made to enter into outer space and orbit around the earth's contours, both the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union began to put forward proposals for restricting or prohibiting such operations.The crucial year was 1957 — the year in which the Soviet Union launched its first sputnik in outer space. This scientific achievement, followed in 1961 by the advent of manned orbital satellites, made it apparent to the world at large and the lawyers among them that outer space could be utilized by man for his own purposes — and that these might not necessarily be peaceful ones.