The Charter of the United Nations was signed in 1945 by 51 countries representing all continents, paving the way for the creation of the United Nations on 24 October 1945. The Statute of the International Court of Justice forms part of the Charter. The aim of the Charter is to save humanity from war; to reaffirm human rights and the dignity and worth of the human person; to proclaim the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small; and to promote the prosperity of all humankind. The Charter is the foundation of international peace and security.

This volume contains the full text of the United Nations Charter and the Statute of the International Court of Justice, as well as related historical documents. They are accompanied by ten original essays on the Charter and its legacy by distinguished scholars and former high-level UN officials. The commentaries illuminate the early and ongoing roles of the United Nations in responding to international crises, debates about the UN’s architecture and its reform, and its role in global governance, climate change, peacekeeping, and development. A concise and accessible introduction to the UN for students, this collection also offers important new scholarship that will be of interest to experts.

The a oeconstitutionalizationa of international law is one of the most intensely debated issues in contemporary international legal doctrine. The term is used to describe a number of features which distinguish the present international legal order from a oeclassicala international law, in particular its shift from bilateralism to community interest, and from an inter-state system to a global legal order committed to the well-being of the individual person. The author of this book belongs to the leading participants of the constitutionalization debate. He argues that there indeed exists a constitutional law of the international community that is built on and around the Charter of the United Nations. In this book, he explains why the Charter has a constitutional quality and what legal consequences arise from that characterization.

"Everything you always wanted to know about the United Nations in one book! This primer to the United Nations is designed for all global citizens. It covers the history of the UN, what it does and how it does it. As the world's only truly global organization, the United Nations is where countries meet to address universal issues that cannot be resolved by any one of them acting alone. From international peace and security to sustainable development, climate change, human rights, and humanitarian action, the United Nations acts on our behalf around the world." --

The United Nations began as an alliance during World War II. Eventually, however, the UN came to approximate a universal organization - i.e., open to and aspiring to include all States. This presents a legal question, for Article 4 of the Charter contains substantive criteria to limit admission of States to the UN and no formal amendment has touched that part of the Charter. This book gives an up-to-date account of admission to the UN, from the 1950s ‘logjam’ through on-going controversies like Kosovo and Taiwan. With reference to Charter law, the book considers how Article 4 came to accommodate universality and what the future of a universal organization in a world of politically diverse States might be.