General Assembly Managing change Legal affairs Legislative assistance 300. A number of bodies involved in the legislative process, in particular the International
Law Commission and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law
(UNCITRAL), benefited from the legal research services of the Office of Legal Affairs
during the year. The Office also provided legal advice to law-making bodies to assist their
deliberations and promote the successful conduct of their negotiations, including the
International Law Commission; UNCITRAL; the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly
and its working groups; the Ad Hoc Committee established by General Assembly resolution
51/210 of 17 December 1996; the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations
and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization; the Preparatory Commission for the
International Criminal Court; and the First Meeting of the States Parties to the Ottawa
Convention. 301. The Office of Legal Affairs also provided assistance in running conferences convened
for the negotiation and adoption of a number of important multilateral agreements and
provided support to the institutions created by the United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea (the Meeting of States Parties, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf,
the International Seabed Authority and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea).
Other international organizations sought advice from the Office in developing regulations,
rules and standards in their respective areas of competence, for example, in the field of
maritime law. 302. The Office participated in the drafting of several legal instruments, including my bulletin
on fundamental principles and rules of international humanitarian law applicable to United
Nations forces in situations of armed conflict. 303. The Office also provided guidance to States in taking measures for the implementation
of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and offered technical assistance to
States engaged in commercial law reform, targeting in particular those States considering the
adoption of texts prepared by UNCITRAL. Legal advice 304. The Office assisted in the preparation and drafting of agreements between the United
Nations and a number of other international organizations. This assistance included helping to
prepare a draft relationship agreement with the Preparatory Commission for the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. It also assisted in preparing and
drafting agreements between the United Nations and individual States -- most notably, status-of-mission agreements and agreements with States for the enforcement of the sentences of the
two International Tribunals. The Office also provided legal assistance for the negotiation of
contracts, leases and other legal transactions in which the Organization was involved. 305. Legal advice on a range of peacekeeping operations was provided, including the
preparation of agreements between Indonesia and Portugal on the status of East Timor;
between the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration and between the
United Nations and Australia on the conduct of the popular consultation for East Timorese
living outside East Timor; and on the status of the United Nations Mission in East Timor. It
drafted appeals procedures and operational directives for the Identification Commission of the
United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara and prepared the legislative
instruments necessary for the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) to commence operations and gave advice on a range of complex legal issues
arising from that Mission's administration of Kosovo. 306. It followed up on the report of the Group of Experts for Cambodia and developed a
proposal for a tribunal for the prosecution of Khmer Rouge leaders. 307. The Office of Legal Affairs also provided legal advice, assistance and representation in
relation to the resolution of a number of disputes around the world. The Office represented
the United Nations in suits brought by the Organization or against it, including a large number
of commercial claims arising from peacekeeping missions. It acted to secure respect for the
United Nations privileges and immunities by representing me before the International Court
of Justice in the advisory proceedings concerning a Difference Relating to Immunity from
Legal Process of a Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights. It also acted for
the Organization before the two International Tribunals and drew up general guidance for the
Secretariat on how to respond to requests from the Tribunals for access to United Nations
documentation and for testimony from force commanders and other United Nations
personnel. 308. The Office assisted the Member States concerned in the resolution of legal issues related
to the implementation of Security Council resolution 1192 (1998), and other Council
resolutions concerning the bombing of Pan Am flight 103. In addition, it was charged with
the task of preparing for, and effecting, the transfer of the two persons suspected of the
bombing from the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to the Netherlands. 309. General guidance was provided to the Secretariat on the conduct of its business, and
advice was given to political organs on questions of procedure, participation, representation
and membership arising from their work. Legal advice was offered on questions relating to
the enforcement of sanctions imposed by the Security Council and on implementing the oil-for-food programme. 310. The Office served as a focal point for contacts between the legal advisers of the United
Nations system of organizations and promoted coordination between them on matters of legal
policy. International treaty system 311. The Office discharged my functions as depositary of 508 multilateral treaties. In the past
year, the Office handled over 1,800 separate actions in connection with those treaties,
considering and addressing the many legal questions arising. The Office discharged the
Secretariat's function under the Charter of registering treaties and international agreements
entered into by Member States, processing over 2,500 registration submissions during the past
year. Information outreach 312. A range of activities were undertaken during the year to improve the dissemination of
information on international law and the work of United Nations legal bodies. In particular,
the Office continued to implement a new programme aimed at promoting understanding of
the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and ensuring its consistent and effective
application. 313. The Office made significant improvements to its publications programme. It reduced the
backlog in the production of the Treaty Series and introduced measures that should eliminate
it completely by 2001. It also increased efforts to address the backlog in the preparation of the
Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs. It set up an electronic database for
production of the monthly Statement of Treaties and International Agreements Registered or
Filed and Recorded with the Secretariat and Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the
Secretary-General and initiated measures to post all printed volumes of the Treaty Series on
the Internet by 2001. It improved and updated its Web sites on the Organization's treaty
collection, the International Law Commission, the International Criminal Court and the
codification, development and promotion of international law. 314. The international law audio-visual library was expanded to facilitate loans of audio-visual material to Governments and educational institutions; and training seminars and
briefing sessions on uniform commercial law were organized to promote awareness of texts
prepared by UNCITRAL and encourage States to adopt them. Challenges 315. In the year ahead, the Office anticipates major challenges in addressing the complex
legal issues arising from the implementation of the mandate of UNMIK in Kosovo, and in
assisting Member States in their preparations for the establishment of the International
Criminal Court. Additional challenges are emerging from the upsurge of activity around the
world aimed at reforming and modernizing commercial law and the concomitant need to
harmonize and unify the laws of international trade.
Official Records
Fifty-fourth Session
Supplement No. 1 (A/54/1) Chapter VI