Organs of the United Nations (UN)

The following are the six organs of the United Nations :
1. General Assembly
2. Security Council
3. Economic and Social Council
4. Trusteeship Council
5. International Court of Justice
6. Secretariat

General Assembly
The most representative of the organs of the United Nations.
Composition
Consist of all the nation-members of the United Nations. Each member is entitled to at least five representatives and five alternates such as technical staff as needed.
Pre - Function
The characterization of questions as to important or not important . Such that after being determined the General Assembly proceeds to its vital functions and powers.
Functions and Powers
According to the Charter of the United Nations, the General Assembly may:
- Consider and make recommendations on the general principles of cooperation for maintaining international peace and security, including disarmament;
- Discuss any question relating to international peace and security and, except where a dispute or situation is currently being discussed by the Security Council, make recommendations on it;
- Discuss, with the same exception, and make recommendations on any questions within the scope of the Charter or affecting the powers and functions of any organ of the United Nations;
- Initiate studies and make recommendations to promote international political cooperation, the development and codification of international law, the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms and international collaboration in the economic, social, humanitarian, cultural, educational and health fields;
- Make recommendations for the peaceful settlement of any situation that might impair friendly relations among nations;
- Receive and consider reports from the Security Council and other United Nations organs;
- Consider and approve the United Nations budget and establish the financial assessments of Member States;
- Elect the non-permanent members of the Security Council and the members of other - United Nations councils and organs and, on the recommendation of the Security Council, appoint the Secretary-General.
Session
Regular annual session begins every third Tuesday of September, or can also conduct special sessions at the call of the majority or upon request of the Security Council.
Voting
Each member of the General Assembly has one vote.
(Vote Needed)
Important Questions - requires two-third votes of all the present and voting members
Not Important Questions – requires majority of those present and voting members
President of the General Assembly
A seasoned diplomat, economist, scholar and businessman, Dr. Kerim brings with him a wealth of experience in international political and economic affairs and extensive knowledge of the United Nations system. From 2000 to 2001, Dr. Kerim was Foreign Minister of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, in which capacity he also served as Chairman of the South-East European Cooperation Process. He then became his country's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, from 2001 to 2003, during which time he served as vice-chairman both of the International Conference on Financing for Development (Monterrey, 2002) and of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002). In addition, he was a member of the group of facilitators of the President of the fifty-sixth UN General Assembly, focusing on UN reform, and was a co-organizer of the Regional Forum on Dialogue of Civilizations (Ohrid, 2003).

Security Council
The key organ of the United Nation in the maintenance of peace and security
Composition
Consist of fifteen (15) members. Five permanent members and ten elective members.
Five permanent members are the commonly known as UN’s Big Five, these are :
1. China
2. France
3. United kingdom
4. Russia
5. United States
- the permanent members are given a preferred position because of their prestige and power thus, can be called upon to provide leadership and physical force needed to preserve peace of the world.
Ten elective members elected by the General Assembly :
1. Five from African and Asian states
2. Two from Latin American state
3. Two from Western European and other states
4. One from Eastern European states
Term/Re-election
Big Five : permanent
Ten elective members : elected for two years by the General Assembly and not eligible for immediate re-election.
Chairmanship is rotated every calendar month on the basis of English alphabetical order of the names of members.
Pre- Function
(Characterization of Questions)
Procedural matters – includes questions relating to the organization and meeting of the Security Council, establishment of subsidiary organs and the participation of states paries to a dispute in the discussions of the organ
Non-procedural matters – are those that may require the Security Council under it’s responsibility of maintaining and restoring peace to invoke measures of enforcement.
Functions and Powers
to maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes of the United Nations;
to investigate any dispute or situation which mightlead to international friction;
to recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement;
to formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments;
to determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to recommend what action should be taken;
to call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not involving the use of force to prevent or stop aggression;
to take military action against an aggressor;
to recommend the admission of new Members;
to exercise the trusteeship functions of the United Nations in "strategic areas";
to recommend to the GeneralAssembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and, together with the Assembly, to elect the Judges of the International Court of Justice.
Voting : Yalta Formula
According to this formula, each member shall have one vote but distinction is made between the Big Five and the non-permanent in resolution of substantive questions. This formula was devised at the Crimea Conference and subsequently incorporated in Article 27 of the UN Charter, which provides :
1. Each member of the Security Council shall have one vote.
2. Decisions of the Security Council on procedural matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members.
3. Decisions of the Security Council on all other matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members including the concurring votes of the permanent members; provided that, in decisions under Chapter VI and under paragraph 3 of Article 52 a party to a dispute shall abstain from voting
Purpose of the Yalta Formula is to ensure the unity of permanent members in the measures to be taken in the pursuit of its primary function of maintaining international peace and security.
Procedural matters – requires nine votes of any permanent members or more
Non-procedural matters –requires nine votes but including concurrence of all the Big Five
Veto : prevent agreement on a non-procedural question even if it is supported by all the members of the Security Council
Double veto : by means of which it can disapprove any proposal to consider a question merely procedural and threafter vote against the question itself on the merits.

Economic and Social Council
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations assists the General Assembly in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development. ECOSOC has 54 members, all of whom are elected by the General Assembly for a three-year term. The president is elected for a one-year term and chosen amongst the small or middle powers represented on ECOSOC. ECOSOC meets once a year in July for a four-week session. Since 1998, it has held another meeting each April with finance ministers heading key committees of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Viewed separate from the specialized bodies it coordinates, ECOSOC’s functions include information gathering, advising member nations, and making recommendations. In addition, ECOSOC is well positioned to provide policy coherence and coordinate the overlapping functions of the UN’s subsidiary bodies and it is in these roles that it is most active.
Composition
Fifty-four (54) members elected by the General Assembly.
Term
Elected members serve for three years and maybe re-elected immediately. Terms are staggered as to provide for replacement or re-election of one-third of the body every year.
Session
Regular sessions as required in accordance with its rules. Special Sessions upon the request of majority of its members.
Voting
Each member has one vote. Decisions are reached by a majority of those present and voting.
Function
Exert efforts toward :
1. Higher standaards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development;
2. Solutions of international economic, social, health and related problems, and international, cultural and educational cooperation , and;
3. Universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language and religion.

Trusteeship Council
The organ charged with the duty of assisting the Security Council and General Assembly
The United Nations Trusteeship Council, one of the principal organs of the United Nations, was established to help ensure that non-self-governing territories were administered in the best interests of the inhabitants and of international peace and security. The trust territories – most of them former mandates of the League of Nations or territories taken from nations defeated at the end of World War II – have all now attained self-government or independence, either as separate nations or by joining neighbouring independent countries. The last was Palau, which became a member state of the United Nations in December 1994.
Compostion
1. Member of the UN administering trust terriories
2. Permanent members of the Security Council
3. As many other members (necessary) elected for three years by the General Assembly
Session
Regular sessions as required in accordance with its rules. Special Sessions upon the request of majority of its members.
Voting
Each member has one vote. Decisions are reached by a majority of those present and voting.

International Court of Justice (ICJ)
The judicial organ of the United Nations which functions in accordance with the Statute.
Composition of Court Members
Fifteen members elected by abosolute majority vote in the General Assembly and Security Council.
Qualifications/Considerations
1. Judge must be of high moral character
2. Appointed in his/her country the highest judicial offices/ recognized competence in international law.
3. No one should be of the same state
4. (in the event wherein more than one of them of the same nationals)
Eledest shall be considered elected
Position/Terms
Court shall elect President and Vice – President : serve for three years and may be re-elected
En banc or Chambers : three or more judges
Voting
All questions are decided by a majority of the judges present , the quorom being nine when the full court is sitting.
Functions/Process
The functions of the court are to decide contentious cases and to render advisory opinions.
(Contentious cases)
Only States (States Members of the United Nations and other States which have become parties to the Statute of the Court or which have accepted its jurisdiction under certain conditions) may be parties to contentious cases.
The Court is competent to entertain a dispute only if the States concerned have accepted its jurisdiction in one or more of the following ways:
by entering into a special agreement to submit the dispute to the Court;
by virtue of a jurisdictional clause, i.e., typically, when they are parties to a treaty containing a provision whereby, in the event of a dispute of a given type or disagreement over the interpretation or application of the treaty, one of them may refer the dispute to the Court;
through the reciprocal effect of declarations made by them under the Statute whereby each has accepted the jurisdiction of the Court as compulsory in the event of a dispute with another State having made a similar declaration. A number of these declarations, which must be deposited with the United Nations Secretary-General, contain reservations excluding certain categories of dispute.
Proceedings may be instituted in one of two ways:
through the notification of a special agreement: this document, which is of a bilateral nature, can be lodged with the Court by either of the States parties to the proceedings or by both of them. A special agreement must indicate the subject of the dispute and the parties thereto. Since there is neither an “applicant” State nor a “respondent” State, in the Court’s publications their names are separated by an oblique stroke at the end of the official title of the case, e.g., Benin/Niger;
by means of an application: the application, which is of a unilateral nature, is submitted by an applicant State against a respondent State. It is intended for communication to the latter State and the Rules of Court contain stricter requirements with respect to its content. In addition to the name of the party against which the claim is brought and the subject of the dispute, the applicant State must, as far as possible, indicate briefly on what basis - a treaty or a declaration of acceptance of compulsory jurisdiction - it claims the Court has jurisdiction, and must succinctly state the facts and grounds on which it bases its claim. At the end of the official title of the case the names of the two parties are separated by the abbreviation “v.” (for the Latin versus), e.g., Nicaragua v. Colombia.
Jurisdiction
The International Court of Justice acts as a world court. The Court has a dual jurisdiction : it decides, in accordance with international law, disputes of a legal nature that are submitted to it by States (jurisdiction in contentious cases); and it gives advisory opinions on legal questions at the request of the organs of the United Nations or specialized agencies authorized to make such a request (advisory jurisdiction).

Secretariat
The chief administrative organ of the United Nation.
Compostion
Headed by Secretary General chosen by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.
Secretary General is the highest representative of the United Nation. He/She is entitled to full diplomatic immunities and privileges.
Term
Secretary General has a fixed term of five years and he may be re-elected.
Functions
His primary duty is to bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten international peace and security.
Acts as secretary in all meeting of th General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council and Trusteeship Council (any may perform other functions as may be assigned to him by theses organs)
Prepares budget of the UN for submission to the General Assembly
Provides technical facilities and in general coordinates its vast administrative machinery.
The duties carried out by the Secretariat are as varied as the problems dealt with by the United Nations. These range from administering peacekeeping operations to mediating international disputes, from surveying economic and social trends and problems to preparing studies on human rights and sustainable development. Secretariat staff also inform the world's communications media about the work of the United Nations; organize international conferences on issues of worldwide concern; and interpret speeches and translate documents into the Organization's official languages.
The Secretariat has a staff of about 8,900 under the regular budget drawn from some 170 countries. As international civil servants, staff members and the Secretary-General answer to the United Nations alone for their activities, and take an oath not to seek or receive instructions from any Government or outside authority. Under the Charter, each Member State undertakes to respect the exclusively international character of the responsibilities of the Secretary-General and the staff and to refrain from seeking to influence them improperly in the discharge of their duties.
The United Nations, while headquartered in New York, maintains a significant presence in Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Beirut, Geneva, Nairobi, Santiago and Vienna, and has offices all over the world.
The Secretary – General
Ban Ki-moon of the Republic of Korea, the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations, brings to his post 37 years of service both in government and on the global stage. At the time of his election as Secretary-General, Mr. Ban was his country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. His long tenure with the ministry included postings in New Delhi, Washington D.C. and Vienna, and responsibility for a variety of portfolios, including Foreign Policy Advisor to the President, Chief National Security Advisor to the President, Deputy Minister for Policy Planning and Director-General of American Affairs. Throughout this service, his guiding vision was that of a peaceful Korean peninsula, playing an expanding role for peace and prosperity in the region and the wider world.


Sources :
Official Website of the United Nations
International Law by Isagani Cruz
Pub. International Law Subject (class discussion) by Atty. Ethelbert Ouano and inputs of my classmates
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Secretariat