Law and Practice of the United Nations

Second Edition

Simon Chesterman, Ian Johnstone, and David M. Malone

Ideal for courses on the United Nations or International Organizations, taught in both law and international relations programs
Combines primary materials with expert commentary, demonstrating the interaction between law and practice in the UN organization, as well as the possibilities and limitations of multilateral institutions
Helps students form a realistic idea of the work of international diplomacy
Includes questions in each chapter to guide discussion of the primary materials
Brief bibliography appears at the end of each chapter to facilitate further research on the subject

New to this Edition:

Updates the materials in the first edition and introduces new features that reflect a changing global landscape
Inclusion of hypothetical fact scenarios to test the understanding of concepts in each chapter
Contains more expert commentary to aid the readers understaning of the primary materials
Contains a new "hard choices" chapter that relates to challenges inherent in the field of action to promote and protect human rights
Expanded consideration of dilemmas relating to armed intervention, including those flowing from the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle
Contains new chapters on terrorism and nuclear proliferation, peace operations, and the UN's varied and ambitious environmental work under the heading of Sustainable Development
Contains a revised chapter on self-determination that now includes democracy promotion
Provides revised materials on self-determination (including democracy promotion)
Offers coverage of the Security Council Reform

Law and Practice of the United Nations

Second Edition

Simon Chesterman, Ian Johnstone, and David M. Malone

Description

Law and Practice of the United Nations: Documents and Commentary combines primary materials with expert commentary demonstrating the interaction between law and practice in the UN organization, as well as the possibilities and limitations of multilateral institutions in general. Each chapter begins with a short introductory essay describing how the documents that ensue illustrate a set of legal, institutional, and political issues relevant to the practice of diplomacy and the development of public international law through the United Nations. Each chapter also includes questions to guide discussion of the primary materials, and a brief bibliography to facilitate further research on the subject.

This second edition addresses the most challenging issues confronting the United Nations and the global community today, from terrorism to climate change, from poverty to nuclear proliferation. New features include hypothetical fact scenarios to test the understanding of concepts in each chapter. This edition contains expanded author commentary, while maintaining the focus on primary materials. Such materials enable a realistic presentation of the work of international diplomacy: the negotiation, interpretation and application of such texts are an important part of what actually takes place at the United Nations and other international organizations.

This work is ideal for courses on the United Nations or International Organizations, taught in both law and international relations programs.

Law and Practice of the United Nations

Second Edition

Simon Chesterman, Ian Johnstone, and David M. Malone

Preface to the Second Edition

Introduction

Part I - Relevance
Chapter 1 The UN Charter
Chapter 2 Hard Cases
Chapter 3 Hard Choices

Part II - Capacity
Chapter 4: Legal Status
Chapter 5 The Secretary-General and the Secretariat
Chapter 6 Membership
Chapter 7 Structure, Financing, and Administration

PART III - Practice
Chapter 8 Counter-Terrorism and Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Chapter 9 Peace Operations
Chapter 10 Sanctions
Chapter 11 Sustainable Development
Chapter 12 Self-Determination and Democracy Promotion
Chapter 13 Human Rights
Chapter 14 The Rule of Law and Transitional Justice

Part IV - Accountability
Chapter 15 Immunity and Responsibility
Chapter 16 Accountability in Practice
Chapter 17 Reform

Appendices

Charter of the United Nations

Statute of the International Court of Justice

Index

Law and Practice of the United Nations

Second Edition

Simon Chesterman, Ian Johnstone, and David M. Malone

Author Information

Simon Chesterman is Dean and Professor at the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law. He is also Editor of the Asian Journal of International Law and Secretary-General of the Asian Society of International Law.

Ian Johnstone is Professor of International Law at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. He is on the editorial board of Global Governance and International Organizations Law Review.

David M. Malone is Rector of the UN University (UNU) in Tokyo and Under-Secretary-General of the UN. He has served as a Canadian ambassador to the UN and as Canada's high commissioner to India, and from 2004 to 2006 oversaw multilateral and economic diplomacy within Canada's Foreign Affairs Department.

Law and Practice of the United Nations

Second Edition

Simon Chesterman, Ian Johnstone, and David M. Malone

Reviews and Awards

"This book is overdue and immensely valuable. The United Nations used to merit a couple of chapters in an often dry-as-dust casebook on international organizations generally, chapters devoted to the law of the Charter but never the political practice that illuminates it and makes it both trying and occasionally triumphant. Here, at last, is a volume entirely devoted to the United Nations for scholars of both international law and international relations, in an accessible format with challenging issues at every turn."-Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO of the New America Foundation

"International lawyers everywhere should rejoice that Thomas Franck, along with colleagues Simon Chesterman and David Malone, have at last made widely available the primary documents that have long formed the backbone of Franck's renowned 'UN Law' course. Their casebook - which examines through a legal lens the relevance, capacity, practice, and accountability of the UN - stresses the interaction between law and politics without confusing the two. From its opening introductory section discussing, among other things, why the UN Charter ought to be regarded as a 'constitution', to its closing chapter devoted to the prospects for UN reform, this is a book that makes immediate and concrete what it means to have an international rule of law."-Jose E. Alvarez, Hamilton Fish Professor of International Law & Diplomacy, Columbia Law School

"Law and Practice of the United Nations is part casebook, part textbook and, throughout, a profound set of reflections on the past, present and future of the UN as a 'constitutional' framework for global governance. It is designed for students, but there is no specialist on the UN who would not learn from this impressive volume." -Michael W. Doyle, Director, Columbia Global Policy Initiative, and University Professor, Columbia University

"These three highly respected authors have created a volume from which any serious scholar can gain tremendous insight. ... First, I believe that the inclusion of a broad range of original documentation makes this a much more useful book than has been published anywhere else in recent years. Second, the authors provide in their commentary very rich explanations of the practical contexts within which these documents have arisen; these explanations provide deeper understandings of the legal and political considerations standing behind the documents. Third, the authors have addressed important topics of very recent vintage, allowing instructors and students to make meaningful evaluations of contemporary public events. These authors have generated such a breath of fresh air that I must admit that I very much look forward to using the text."-Edwin Smith, Leon Benwell Professor of Law, International Relations and Political Science, University of Southern California

"The book's central strength is that it situates its legal analysis in the context of policy and practice. The selection of cases and documents are excellent - effectively illustrating the impact of law on practice and, more generally, the interaction between law and politics in international affairs. The overall scope and content are ideal for both law and non-law students (at the graduate level)."-Ian Johnstone, Associate Professor of International Law, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

"The strengths of the book are considerable, including its broad focus on the full range of UN activities and issues, its inclusion of both historical material and current developments, its clear organizational structure, and its good and lively commentary."."-Jane Stromseth, Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center