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70. The Statute of the old Court contained no provision for its amendment and this caused considerable difficulty. The present Statute contains such a provision, according to which the procedure for amending the Statute is to be the same as that required for an amendment of the Charter. In addition there is an Article which enables the Court itself to propose amendments, although these can of course only be adopted by means of the prescribed procedure just referred to.

Chapter XV. The Secretariat.

71. Articles have been added emphasising the international character of the Secretariat. Obligations are laid both upon the Secretariat and upon the Members of the Organisation to respect their position as international officials (Art. 100).

72. The Staff is to be appointed by the Secretary-General under regulations to be established by the General Assembly. The various Organs of the United Nations are to have permanent staffs as required, but all are to form a part of the Secretariat (Art. 101 (1) and (2)). More detailed proposals concerning the staff were suggested at the Conference but were not approved.

73. The paramount consideration as regards staff is to be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity. Sub- ject to this, due regard is to be paid to recruiting staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible (Art. 101 (3)).

Chapter XVI. Miscellaneous Provisions.

74. All the Articles of this Chapter are the result of the experience of the League of Nations. Thus, an Article has been inserted on the lines of Article 18 of the Covenant of the League of Nations concerning the registra- tion of treaties. It is laid down that no treaty or agreement can be invoked before any Organ of the United Nations (including, of course, the International Court of Justice) unless it has been so registered (Art. 102). No definition is given of the term " agreement " and the rules for the application of this Article will have to be worked out by the General Assembly itself.

75. Another most important Article provides that obligations assumed under the Charter prevail over obligations under any other international agreement in the event of a conflict between them (Art. 103). This Article has the same object as that of Art. 20 of the Covenant of the League of Nations. It is not considered necessary to lay down that States should take steps to free them- selves from obligations which conflict with those taken under the Charter. Such obligations will automatically cease to be valid if and when the occasion arises.

76. Two other Articles provide that the Organisation shall enjoy in the territory of its Members such legal capacity as may be necessary for the exercise of its functions and the fulfilment of its purposes. These are to include the necessary immunities and privileges both for the Organisation itself and for its officials. The General Assembly may make recommendations or suggest conventions to Members in order that this object may be attained (Arts. 104, 105). The absence of such provision in the Covenant was found to be very inconvenient. It is for the Members themselves to make any alterations in the law which may be necessary, but the recommendations of the General Assembly will obviously carry great weight with them in considering this question,

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Chapter XVII. Transitional Security Arrangements.

77. France was added by general acclamation to the states which are to consult together in the first instance concerning the maintenance of inter- national peace and security until the Security Council considers that it can begin the exercise of its responsibilities under Article 42. Other changes are merely designed to make more clear the intentions of the original text. (Arts. 106, 107).

Chapter XVIII. Amendments.

78. A new Article, the result of considerable discussion and negotiation, enables a General Conference to be held for the purpose of reviewing the Charter as a whole. The date and place of the Conference are to be fixed by a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly and a vote of any seven members of the Security Council. Provision is made for a special vote to be taken on the subject in these two bodies if the Conference has not been summoned before the Tenth Assembly meets (Art. 109). It should be noted that any amendments to the Charter which may be proposed as a result of such a Conference can only come into force by the same process as is laid down for other amendments, i.e., they must be ratified by two-thirds of the Members of the United Nations including all the permanent members of the Security Council.

Chapter XIX. Ratification and Signature.

It has now

79. This question was not dealt with at Dumbarton Oaks. been decided that the Charter will come into force when ratified by all the members with permanent seats on the Security Council and a majority of the other signatories of the Charter (Art. 110).

80. It is also laid down that the Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts of the Charter are equally authentic. (Art. III).

IV.

CONCLUSIONS.

k. I

81. As a result of all these amendments the Dumbarton Oaks proposals have been amplified and much improved. No doubt imperfections still remain. A few articles are obviously compromises between different points of view. No state represented at the Conference obtained all that it desired. The Delegation of the United Kingdom would have changed several of the provisions had it been possible to do so with general agreement. Such com- promises are inevitable in the making of a great international instrument like the Charter.

82. But the final result is one which gives the highest promise for the future. The nations of the world can now possess an International Organisa- tion which, if rightly used, will enable them to settle their disputes, maintain international peace and security and co-operate together for the general welfare. In accordance with the promise made in the Moscow Declaration of October, 1943, the Charter of the United Nations is based on the sovereign equality of its Members. The powers of the Organs of the United Nations are only such as are necessary for them to carry out the functions assigned to them. But it may be hoped that as confidence in the Organisation grows it will develop new functions and be granted further powers by the free consent of its Members.

83. The primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security is entrusted to the Security Council. Only that body can initiate action in that sphere. It has been given much greater powers for this purpose