Chapter VI. Selected legal opinions of the secretariats of the United Nations and related intergovernmental organizations

UNITED NATIONS

JURIDICAL YEARBOOK

Extract from:

Chapter VI. Selected legal opinions of the Secretariats of the United Nations and related

intergovernmental organizations

1978

Part Two. Legal activities of the United Nations and related intergovernmental

organizations

Copyright (c) United Nations

CONTENTS

(continued)

Page

agreement—Competence

of the

Tribunal

to

consider

the

complaints—

Concept

of

acquired

rights in

respect

of

remuneration, promotion

and

retire-

ment

-. 158

36.

Judgement

No. 366 (13

November 1978): Biggio, Vanmoer

and

Fournier

v.

Inter-

national

Patent Institute

160

37.

Judgement

No. 367 (13

November

1978):

Sita

Ram v.

World

Health

Organization

Complaint

impugning

a

transfer

decision—Quashing

of the

decision

on the

grounds

of

prejudice

and

incomplete consideration

of the

facts—Compensation

for the

moral

prejudice suffered

by the

complainant

160

CHAPTER

VI.

SELECTED LEGAL OPINIONS

OF THE

SECRETARIATS

OF THE

UNITED NATIONS

AND

RELATED INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

A.

LEGAL OPINIONS

OF THE

SECRETARIAT

OF THE

UNITED NATIONS

1.

Question

of the financing of

UNIFIL during

the

period

between

its

establishment

by

Security Council resolution

425

(1978)

of 19

March 1978

and the

convening

of

the

thirty-third

regular session

of the

General

Assembly—Requirement

under

General Assembly resolutions relating

to

unforeseen

and

extraordinary

expenses

that,

in

case commitments should arise

in an

estimated total exceeding

$10

million

during

the

intervening period,

a

special

session

of the

Assembly

be

convened

to

consider

the

matter—Question

whether

the

matter

of the financing of

UNIFIL

could

be

dealt

with

through inclusion

of a

supplementary item,

at the

suggestion

of

the

Secretary-General under rule

18 of the

rules

of

procedure

of the

General

Assembly,

in the

agenda

of an

already planned special session

to

deal with

a

dif-

ferent

question

162

2.

Question

of the

participation

in

plenary meetings

of the

special session

of the

Gen-

eral

Assembly devoted

to

disarmament

of

non-member States

and

specialized

agencies

164

3.

Modalities

of

holding

a

joint meeting

of two

Main Committees

of the

General

As-

sembly

166

4.

Question whether

the

Fourth Committee

is

competent

to

grant

a

hearing

to a

repre-

sentative

of the

Puerto Rican Socialist Party notwithstanding

the

fact

that Puerto

Rico

is not

included

in the

list

of

territories approved

by the

General Assembly

to

which

the

Declaration

on the

Granting

of

Independence

to

Colonial

Countries

and

Peoples currently applies

167

5.

Contribution

of

non-member States, under regulation

5.9 of the

Financial Rules

and

Regulations

of the

United Nations,

to the

expenses

of

"treaty

bodies"

of

which

they

are

members

and of

organs

of

Conferences

in

which they

participate—Meaning

of the

term

"participate"

in the

context

of

regulation

5.9—Question

whether

the

expenses referred

to in

that regulation

are

limited

to

those incurred

in the

holding

of the

meetings

of the

organs

or

conferences con-

cerned

169

6.

Eventuality

of

proposals involving expenditures being voted

on at the

tenth

special

session

of the

General

Assembly—Question

whether, should that eventuality

ma-

terialize,

the

Advisory Committee

on

Administrative

and

Budgetary Questions

and

the

Fifth

Committee should

be

convened

in the

light

of

rule

153 of the

rules

of

procedure

of the

General Assembly

172

7.

Committee established under General Assembly resolution

32/174—Question

whether

the

Committee

on

Conferences

has the

competence, under

its

terms

of

CONTENTS

(continued)

Page

reference

and in the

light

of the

criteria

adopted

by the

General

Asse

nbly

in

resolu-

tion 3415 (XXX),

to

authorize

the

provision

of

meeting

records

foi

the

said Com-

mittee

173

8.

Meetings

of the

bureaux

of the

Commission

on

Human

Settlements

and of the

Governing Council

of the

United Nations Environment

Prograrrme—Question

whether

the

travel expenses

of the

members

of the

bureaux should

be met by the

Governments concerned

or by the

United

Nations—Criteria

set fc

rth

in

General

Assembly

resolution 1798

(XVII)

176

9.

Visit

of a

Working Group

of the

Commission

on

Human Rights

to the

country

designated

in its

terms

of

reference—Question

whether such

a

vii

it

requires

the

participation

of all the

members

of the

Group—Applicability

of the

i

ule

on

quorum

of the

rules

of

procedure

of the

functional commissions

of the Eco

lomic

and So-

cial Council

178

10.

Sessional Working Group

of the

Economic

and

Social Council

o

i

reports

from

parties

to the

International Covenant

on

Economic, Social

and

Cultural

Rights—

Question whether

the

sessional Working Group should

be

composed exclusively

of

members

of the

Council that

are

parties

to the

Covenant

179

11.

Question

of the

inclusion

in the

agenda

of the

Economic Commiss

on for

Europe

of an

item

proposed

by a

State member

of the

Commission—Duty

oi

the

Executive

Secretary

of the

Commission,

under rule

5 of the

Commission's

iules

of

proce-

dure,

to

include

an

item

so

proposed

in the

provisional agenda

afUr

consultation

with

the

Chairman—Meaning

of the

word

"consultation"

in

this

context

180

12.

Economic Commission

for

Western

Asia—Question

of the

postpoiement

of the

Commission's

fifth

session scheduled

to be

held

in

1978—Under

ïconomic

and

Social Council resolution 1768

(LIV),

a

decision

of the

Commissu

n to

postpone

that

session

to

1979

should

be

submitted

to the

Council

for its

<

oncurrence—

Requirement, under Council decision

279

(LXIII),

that proposals

or

changes

in

the

established pattern

of

sessions

of

subsidiary bodies

be

submitted

o the

Council

for

its

consideration

181

13.

Question

of the

participation

of

intergovernmental

and

non-govemi

lental

organi-

zations

in the

Economic Commission

for

Western Asia

(ECWA)

181

14.

Preparatory Committee

of the

United Nations Conference

on

Science

and

Technology

for

Development—Possible

implications with

respect

tc the

composi-

tion

of the

Committee's

bureau

of the

decision

of the

General

Asst

mbly

to

open

full

membership

in the

Committee

to all

States

183

15.

Preparatory Committee

for the

United Nations Conference

on

Science

and

Technology

for

Development—Question

whether

the

Committee

01

Conferences

is

competent under

its

terms

of

reference

to

take

affirmative

actioi

on a

request

that

Arabic

be

included

as a

language

of the

Preparatory Committe

î

at its

future

sessions—Arrangements

approved

by the

General Assembly

in

relat

on to the

pro-

vision

of

Arabic interpretation services

184

16.

Immunity

from

legal

process

of the

United Nations Joint

Staff

Pei

sion Fund,

a

subsidiary organ

of the

United Nations, under article

II,

section

2 o ' the

Conven-

tion

on the

Privileges

and

Immunities

of the

United

Nations—Immui

lity

of

United

Nations

officials

from

legal

process

in

respect

of

acts performed

in

their

official

capacity, under

article

V,

section

18

of the

said Convention

186

17.

Question

of the

exemption

from

real estate

tax of a

residential

prope

ty in the

host

State occupied

by a

member

of a

Permanent Mission

to the

Unit

:d

Nations—

Relevant provisions

of the

Headquarters agreement

and of the

Vienn

i

Convention

on

Diplomatic Relations

187