Legal affairs area

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The Office of Legal Affairs ( English Office of Legal Affairs , OLA ) of the UN Secretariat is within the United Nations for Legal Affairs in charge.

History and tasks

The establishment of the legal affairs division was entrusted to the UN Secretary General by resolution 13 of the UN General Assembly of February 1, 1946. Originally the division was realized as a department, but was upgraded to a separate office in 1954, all the more so as its role as legal advisor of the General Secretary and his work on his behalf in legal matters.

When it was established, the division was headed by an Assistant Secretary General and consisted of the departments for General Legal Issues, Development and Codification of International Law, Immunities and Contract Administration. In 1967 the International Trade Law Division was established and in 1992 the Marine Affairs and Maritime Law Division was incorporated.

Today, the legal affairs department is headed by an Under-Secretary-General (currently the Portuguese Miguel de Serpa Soares ) and an Assistant Secretary-General (currently the US American Stephen Mathias ) as deputies and employs around 160 people. He has the following tasks:

  • Provision of a central and uniform legal service for the UN Secretariat, the Secretary General and other organs of the United Nations,
  • Supporting the ongoing development and codification of international public and commercial law ,
  • Promotion of the strengthening and development of the international legal order for the seas and oceans as well as their effective enforcement,
  • Registration and publication of contracts as well as acting as the Secretary General's depositary function.

The biennial budget of the OLA is about 36 million US dollars .

structure

The legal affairs division is divided into the following departments and sections:

Office of the Under Secretary-General Office of the Under-Secretary-General OUSG
Legal Adviser's Office Office of the Legal Counsel OLC
General Legal Affairs Department General Legal Division GLD
Codification Department Codification Division COD
Department of Marine Affairs and Law of the Sea Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea DOALOS
International Commercial Law Department International Trade Law Division ITLD
Contracts section Treaty Section TREATIES

See also

literature

  • Hans Corell: United Nations Office of Legal Affairs . In: Karel Wellens (Ed.): International Law: Theory and Practice. Essays in Honor of Eric Suy . The Hague, Boston, London: Martinus Nijhoff, 1998. pp. 305-322. ISBN 90-411-0582-4 .

Web links