LibGuides: Public International Law Research: United Nations

Overview of the United Nations

General Overview of the United Nations

When you are considering a legal issue that implicates the United Nations, it is important to start your research with an understanding of how the United Nations is organized, including the specific duties and responsibilities of each individual organ. The United Nations is organized into six main organs: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Secretariat.

The following resources provide introductory information on each of these organs and are a good place to begin your research on the United Nations:

United Nations Website

The United Nations website provides a general overview of each organ, along with links to the websites for each of the six main organs.

United Nations Documentation Research Guide

This Research Guide is published by the United Nations and provides an overview of the United Nations organizational structure and the types of materials that are produced by each body.

Locating UN Primary Materials

UN Documents versus UN Publications

According to the Regulations for the Control and Limitation of Documentation, the UN defines documents and publications in different ways and uses those terms to refer to specific types of materials. The following are the basic definitions, along with a general overview of the types of content that fit within each definition.

UN Document: Document refers to a text submitted to a principal organ or a subsidiary organ of the United Nations for consideration by it, usually in connection with items on its agenda. UN Documents typically involve all underlying material that supports official publication, including meeting records, transcripts, and other reporting.
UN Publication: Publication refers to any written material which is issued by or for the United Nations to the general public. UN Publications include major studies, reports, statistical compilations, the Official Records of the principal organs, and the U.N.T.S.

UN Document Classification System

Each UN document has a unique symbol at the top right of the document or on the cover page. These symbols include both letters and numbers, and having a general understanding of this classification system can aid you in researching UN documents. The symbol typically looks like the following:

Below you will find a table outlining the first component. Note that there are additional secondary components to this classification system which allow for the identification subsidiary bodies. You can learn more about those on the UN website.

First Component Symbol	Organ to Which Document is Submitted
A/-	General Assembly
S/-	Security Council
E/-	Economic and Social Council
ST/-	Secretariat

Online Resources for UN Documents and Publications

Yearbook of the United Nations

The Yearbook of the UN is the principal reference work of the UN and provides a detailed overview of the Organization's activities during the course of a year. All the yearbooks, from 1945 to the most recent, are available online and provide citation to the documentation and include the full text of resolutions. This is the ideal starting place for any research into UN primary materials.

United Nations Digital Library

The Digital Library includes UN documents, voting data, speeches, maps, and open access publications. You can access UN-produced materials in digital format and bibliographic records for print UN documents starting in 1979.

Official Document System

The UN official document system provides full text search of documents issued since 1993; resolutions of all principal organs & Security Council plenary documents since 1946. This database also provides access to the Daily Journals of New York and Geneva.

Declarations and Conventions Contained in General Assembly Resolutions

This collection provides online access to declarations and conventions issued by the General Assembly. The documents are searchable in a variety of ways, including chronologically and by subject area.

UN Data

UN Data provides access to a variety of statistical resources of the UN system from a wide range of departments and subject matter.

Secondary Sources on the United Nations

The UN and International Law
The UN website provides a helpful overview of the organization and its activity. It also dives into the role of the UN in international law and discusses the various ways the individual organs contribute to the development of international law.

International Law by Wade Mansell; Karen Openshaw
ISBN: 9781849460972
Publication Date: 2013-10-02
This book provides a critical introduction to the concepts, principles and rules of international law through a consideration of contemporary international events. It provides ways of considering the relevance of international law to particular disputes and also an appreciation of both the possibilities and limitations of legal method in international disputes. This in turn necessitates an examination of the relationship between international law and power. Thus rather than studying international law as a system of rules that purports to govern, or at least constrain, the international community, this book considers the actual effects of international law upon international disagreements. Such an approach will be sceptical rather than cynical, intending to provide the means by which the role of international law may be evaluated. This entails discussion of the legal quality of international law; of the relationship between the academic disciplines of international law and international relations; of the apparent 'Eurocentricity' of international law, and of the relationship between political power and the ability to use or abuse (or ignore) international law. Underlying the book is the assertion that international law is political in content (in the sense of being concerned with the exercise of power) but that it draws much of its effectiveness from its self-portrayal as being apolitical, or at least politically neutral.
The Law and Practice of the United Nations by Benedetto Conforti
ISBN: 9004143084
Publication Date: 2005-01-01
This fully up-dated, third revised edition of Conforti's thought-provoking and challengingtextbook, The Law and Practice of the United Nations, provides a comprehensive legal analysis of problems concerning membership, the structure of UN organs, their functions and their acts, taking into consideration the text of the Charter, its historical origins, and, particularly, the practice of the organs. Its main focus is on the practice of the Security Council. In particular the action of the Security Council under Chapter VII has been taken into account. The legal literature on Chapter VII a literature which has grown enormously in recent times - has also been considered. The fact that the legal aspects of the action or the inaction of the Security Council have been discussed to an unusually large extent by ordinary people at the time of the war against Iraq and even later is worth noting. The importance of the role of the United Nations, and the content of the rules governing it, has become a leitmotiv of all debates on international politics. Consequently, the opinion often held in the past, according to which it was useless to deal with the legal aspects of the United Nations activity, can be considered as obsolete.
Multilateral Diplomacy and the United Nations Today by James P. Muldoon (Editor); Earl Sullivan (Editor); JoAnn Fagot Aviel (Editor); Richard Reitano (Editor)
ISBN: 0813343100
Publication Date: 2005-01-28
As the world confronts new and ongoing challenges of globalization, international terrorism and an array of other global issues, the United Nations and its key attribute-multilateral diplomacy-are more important now than ever before. With new and updated essays that detail the experiences of a diverse group of practitioners and scholars who work in the field of diplomacy, this new edition covers in even greater breadth and depth the quintessential characteristics of multilateral diplomacy as it is conducted within the United Nations framework. Multilateral Diplomacy and the United Nations Today provides valuable insights from a variety of perspectives on how diplomacy is practiced, making it essential reading for aspiring diplomats, international business leaders, and students of all levels. The contributors to this volume bring a depth and breadth of knowledge and experience to the examination of five areas of multilateral diplomacy: UN diplomacy, crisis diplomacy, international economic diplomacy, UN summits and "citizen diplomats," and non-governmental diplomacy. A thorough revision: of the 24 chapters, eight are new to this edition, and all the others are updated. Includes a diverse range of contributors: veteran diplomats, respected scholars, non-governmental activists. Relevant, timely discussion topics related to the UN. An important supplemental text to any course on the UN, contemporary international relations, diplomacy, and international organizations.
The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations by Thomas G. Weiss (Editor); Sam Daws (Editor)
ISBN: 9780199279517
Publication Date: 2007-07-12
An authoritative, one-volume treatment of sixty years of history of the United Nations written by distinguished scholars, analysts, and practitioners. Citations and suggested readings contain a wealth of primary and secondary references to the history, politics, and law of the worldorganization. Between two covers, there is a clear and penetrating examination of the UN's development since 1945 and the challenges that it faces in the twenty-first century. This key reference work also contains appendices of the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and theStature of the International Court of Justice.This volume is intended to shape the discipline of UN studies, and to establish itself as the essential point of reference for all those working on, in, or around the world organization. It is substantial in scope, containing contributions from over 40 leading scholars and practitioners - writingsometimes controversially, but always authoritatively - on the key topics and debates that define the institution.
A UNITED NATIONS RENAISSANCE by John Trent (Contribution by); Laura Schnurr (Contribution by)
ISBN: 9783847407119
Publication Date: 2018-02-27
This short introduction to the United Nations analyzes the organization as it is today, and how it can be transformed to respond to its critics. Combining essential information about its history and workings with practical proposals of how it can be strengthened, Trent and Schnurr examine what needs to be done, and also how we can actually move toward the required reforms. This book is written for a new generation of change-makers -- a generation seeking better institutions that reflect the realities of the twenty-first century and that can act collectively in the interest of all.