The universal organizations

The universal organizations

Données clés

Professeur(s)	Victor Monnier
Cours	Introduction au droit

Lectures

• Définition du droit
• L’État
• Les différentes branches du droit
• Les sources du droit
• Les grandes traditions formatrices du droit
• Les éléments de la relation juridique
• L’application du droit
• La mise en œuvre d’une loi
• L’évolution de la Suisse des origines au XXème siècle
• Le cadre juridique interne de la Suisse
• La structure d’État, le régime politique et la neutralité de la Suisse
• L’évolution des relations internationales de la fin du XIXe au milieu du XXe siècle
• Les organisations universelles
• Les organisations européennes et leurs relations avec la Suisse
• Les catégories et les générations de droits fondamentaux
• Les origines des droits fondamentaux
• Les déclarations des droits de la fin du XVIIIe siècle
• Vers l’édification d’une conception universelle des droits fondamentaux au XXe siècle

Languages

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The United Nations

Emblem of the United Nations.

It was developed in the United States just before the end of the war. The Charter of the United Nations was signed in San Francisco on June 26, 1945 by the free nations at war with the Axis powers.

Today, it has more than 196 members, including Switzerland.

Since the end of the war, Switzerland has had an observer seat. It was only in 2002, after the people and the cantons had accepted its accession, that it became a permanent member. Membership was first refused in 1986 in the midst of a period of confrontation between the Soviet and Western blocs.

The Charter of the United Nations has an objective of peacekeeping and international cooperation. Its headquarters are in New York. However, the European headquarters is maintained in Geneva.

The main organs:

• General Assembly: meets in session once a year where each member is represented and represents one vote. On the other hand, it gives rise to special bodies with a high degree of autonomy, such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, established in 1950, UNESCO, and the ILO. Switzerland was a member of some of these bodies even before it became a permanent member of the UN.
• Security Council: has 15 members, including 5 permanent members who are the victorious powers of the Second World War (United States, France, United Kingdom, China, Russia). The other members are elected for two years and the choice of these countries must take into account the geographical distribution. The permanent members have a veto vote. However, the right of veto is not officially registered, but is subject to an interpretation that stipulates that if a permanent member votes against a decision, he can therefore defeat the vote. The abstention of a permanent Member State does not paralyse the system. Since the Soviet Union disappeared, the Security Council has mostly used the consensus technique, the result of a long negotiation process.
• General Secretariat: represented by Ban Ki Moon who is elected by a vote at the General Assembly and proposed by the Security Council. The functions are mainly political. The secretary is supported by an administrative team.
• International Court of Justice: is composed of 15 judges elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council. It is the judicial body of the United Nations. Its objective is to decide according to the rules of international law. Its jurisdiction extends to all cases referred to it by States. Only States can bring an action before the international court of justice: an individual cannot act. No State may, without its consent, be forced to submit a dispute it has with another State to the mediation of the Court. The Court has jurisdiction:
  • Si les États reconnaissent sa compétence
  • Soit parce que les litiges concernent l’interprétation ou l’application d’un traité.
  • Soit parce que deux États en conflit décident de soumettre le différend à la cour.

L’article 93 prévoit que des États non membres des Nations Unies peuvent adhérer à la Cour Internationale de Justice. C’est le cas de la Suisse en 1948.

Les institutions spécialisées

Pour promouvoir la paix, il existe de nombreuses organisations établies dans le sillage de l’ONU : Organisation de la Propriété Intellectuelle (1967), l’UNESCO (1945), l’Organisation Mondiale de la Santé, l’Organisation Internationale du Travail (1919). La Suisse en a fait partie avant même de siéger à l’Assemblée Générale de l’ONU à New York.