The Legal Status and Power of the Secretary-General of the United Nations
Author: By Steven Kuan-tsyh Yu
Abstract / Chinese PDF Download
The legal status and power of the United Nations Secretary-General are specifically worthy of study in depth because he, as designated in the Charter and evolved in practice, is the central figure of the Organization whose scope of functions extends to all aspects of international cooperation in solving every problem which transcends national boundary, including, inter alia, the problem of maintaining international peace and security. To accomplish such a specific study, this research inquires extensively into various aspects of the topic, such as: (1) an assessment of the Secretary-General’s legal status as an international civil servant; (2) discussions and distinction of the roles played by him and by the Secretariat under his leadership; (3) an analysis of his duties and responsibilities as an organizer and administrator of the United Nations; (4) an examination of his political power with emphasis not only on the legal basis and process of evolution of such power, but also on the ways in which he develops and enforces such power upon basis of the Charter′s authorization both explicit and tacit, and (5) the conclusion by affirming the desirability and necessity for the Secretary-General to preserve and invigorate political initiatives in appropriate cases. In so focusing, the research has applied mainly the method of comparative analysis and referred, as necessary, to not only such documents as the Covenant of the League of Nations and the Charter of the United States, but also to the pratice of each of the incumbents in the office of the Secretary-General of the two consecutive World bodies, as well as to the relevant international jurisprudence and academic publications.