tion for the speed and the thoroughness with which this first Committee has done its work. It is the first of our committees to report. It has had many and full discussions of the subjects before it and it is to be congratulated since the decisions which have been reached have met with a very large measure of agreement.

The differences and difficulties which have arisen in Committee 1 have been thrashed out, and we meet today in the happy position that very much, if not all, of the work coming before us comes here with the general agreement of Committee 1. Our task, therefore, today, will be comparatively easy. In other committees, and committees under other commissions, we shall probably have much more difficult and tangled questions to consider. Those that come before us today are easier because of the general agreement which has been reached in Committee 1.

The agenda before us is, as I have indicated, the consideration of the report of the Rapporteur of Commission II, Committee 1. I should like at this stage to ask the Chairman and other officers of the Committee to take their seats on the rostrum. The Chairman is His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Turkey, Dr. Hasan Saka, and the Rapporteur is the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Mr. Kuzma Kiselev. Will they please take their seats here on the rostrum.

Ladies and Gentlemen, you have before you the report of the Rapporteur, and I think it will be unnecessary for us to read the whole document at this stage. I would suggest that we read each section of the report when we come to deal with it in the meeting.

The next question is whether we shall have a general discussion over this report, or whether we shall discuss the detailed questions when we consider the separate sections of the report. The meeting is free to give a general discussion to the report, if it is desired. Unless there is a desire to discuss the report generally, I would suggest that we pass on to the consideration of the details of the report. Is there any desire, Gentlemen, to have a general discussion over the report? Then I assume that we shall not have a general discussion but proceed to the report in detail and have any discussion on the points that may arise there.

You will note that the report has an introductory paragraph which needs no discussion, since it does not embody any resolution. The next item concerns the composition of the Assembly. It contains a recommendation, and I think it would be proper to have the section read first before we discuss it, if necessary. The Composition of the Assembly.

I shall now call upon the Rapporteur to read the section dealing with the Composition of the Assembly.

The Rapporteur will read.

(The Rapporteur delivered his report in Russian.)

PRESIDENT: I think it would be useful to have this section translated both into English and into French, as few of us have the distinction of understanding the original Russian.

(English version of above report as delivered by interpreter follows):

Composition of the Assembly. All members of the Organization should be members of the General Assembly and should be represented by a delegation of not more than five members. The Committee felt,

for a variety of reasons, that in fixing the maximum number of representatives at five a proper distribution of work could be achieved. PRESIDENT: Any desire, Gentlemen, to discuss this recommendation? No wish to discuss it? Then it is agreed to.

We pass on to the following recommendation.

Admission of New Members.

Will the Rapporteur please read the corresponding paragraph in the Report.

RAPPORTEUR (speaking in Russian; English version as delivered by interpreter follows):

Admission of New Members (Chapter V, Section B, paragraph 2). The Committee recommends that new members be admitted by the General Assembly upon recommendation of the Security Council. In supporting the acceptance of this principle several delegates emphasized that the purpose of the Charter is primarily to provide security against a repetition of the present war and that, therefore, the Security Council should assume the initial responsibility of suggesting new participating states.

PRESIDENT: Any desire, Gentlemen, to discuss this item? No desire? It is agreed to.

The Rapporteur will now read the next section on the Elections by the General Assembly. He will read only the first paragraph of that section.

RAPPORTEUR (speaking in Russian; English version as delivered by interpreter follows):

Elections by the General Assembly (Chapter V, Section B, paragraph 4). The Committee recommends that the General Assembly should elect the non-permanent members of the Security Council and members of the Economic and Social Council. The Committee discussed the problem of whether the adoption by Committee III/1 of the four-power amendment providing two general criteria by which the General Assembly shall be guided in electing non-permanent members of the Security Council would require any consequential amendments in Chapter V, Section B, paragraph 4. It has called the attention of the Coordination Committee to the fact that the adoption of these criteria may make it desirable to provide that the election of non-permanent members of the Security Council should be in accordance with rules established by the General Assembly.

PRESIDENT: The recommendation here is that the General Assembly should elect the non-permanent members of the Security Council and also the members of the Economic and Social Council. Any desire to discuss this recommendation, Gentlemen? No wish to discuss it? Agreed to.

Will the Rapporteur now read the next three paragraphs dealing with the election of the Secretary-General.

RAPPORTEUR (speaking in Russian; English version as delivered by interpreter follows):

The Committee recommends that the Secretary-General of the Organization should be elected by the General Assembly upon recommendation of the Security Council made by the affirmative vote of seven members. It is the intent of the Committee that the majority stipulated shall be a majority of any seven members and need not include the concurrent votes of the five permanent members of the Security Council.

During the discussions which preceded the decision of the Committee to make this recommendation, some delegates suggested that it would be more reasonable for the Committee to refer the matter to Committee III/1 than to reach a decision which involved the procedures of the Security Council.

The Committee also voted that the Secretary-General should be elected for a period of three years and should be eligible for reelection. It was suggested to Committee I/2 that this provision be incorporated in Chapter X, paragraph 1.

PRESIDENT: The only recommendation that arises under this section of the report is that the Secretary-General of the Organization should be elected by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council made by an affirmative vote of seven members.

This recommendation is now open for discussion, and the Delegate of the Netherlands, Mr. van Vredenburch, has notified us that he wishes to speak on it.

Mr. VAN VREDENBURCH: Mr. President, the Netherlands Delegation has already congratulated our Rapporteur on the excellent report which he has given us in Committee 1 of Commission II. There is nothing we want to add to this report or to change in it; there is only one observation we would like to make in connection with these paragraphs.

It is said here, Sir, that the Committee recommends that the General Assembly will elect the Secretary-General of the Organization upon recommendation of the Security Council. The Netherlands Delegation believes that it was generally understood in the meeting of Committee 1 of Commission II that the election of the Secretary-General on the recommendation of the Security Council-that the Assembly would always be free to reject a candidate submitted to it in that way, by that procedure.

Therefore, Sir, with great respect, I would like to ask your permission to have it recorded in the proceedings of this meeting that in the opinion of the Netherlands Delegation it was unanimously understood in Committee 1 of Commission II that the Secretary-General would be elected by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council, the General Assembly being free to reject any name submitted to it. Thank you.

Mr. EVATT: Mr. President, on behalf of Australia I support the request of the Netherlands, but we also think it is implied clearly from the words used-and I would like your ruling on that, Sirthat the Assembly has the right, after the recommendation reaches it, to say "yes" or to say "no", because it is a free election of the Assembly which will determine the choice of the Secretary-General. I think that it is implied from the words used, that if a recommendation reaches the Assembly it can reject it, and then the matter would have to go back to the Security Council for further recommendation until the Assembly is in agreement with the Security Council.

That was the belief of the Committee which considered this, and I have no doubt, Sir, that that would be your ruling as to the meaning and the application of the words used.

PRESIDENT: The point raised by the Netherlands Delegate and also by the Australian Delegate, Dr. Evatt, is an interesting one. The Netherlands Delegate says that it was understood or assumed in the discussions in the Committee that although the recommendation of the

Security Council was necessary for an election, it could be rejected, and Dr. Evatt has asked me for a ruling on the interpretation of this recommendation as it stands here. I have no doubt whatever about the true construction of this recommendation, and it is in the sense of what was indicated both by Mr. van Vredenburch and Dr. Evatt. The recommendation is this: "The Committee recommends that the Secretary-General of the Organization should be elected by the General Assembly upon recommendation of the Security Council . . ." All, therefore, that the Security Council does is to make a recommendation. It is no mandatory at all. It is simply a recommendation. The General Assembly cannot elect without having before it such a recommendation, but they are not bound by such a recommendation. It seems to me the plain meaning of the recommendation, and I think, that being the case, we need not pursue the matter further.

The Delegate of the Soviet Union has also asked to speak. I call on Mr. Novikov.

Mr. NOVIKOV: Mr. President, Fellow Delegates, as regards the paragraph concerning the election of the Secretary-General, the Soviet Delegation has some considerations which require additional consultation. For this reason, the Soviet Delegation has put this question before the Steering Committee. Therefore, we would like to ask this Commission to postpone the consideration of this question until a decision is reached by the Steering Committee concerning this item. PRESIDENT: Mr. de Laveleye of the Belgian Delegation wishes to speak on the point which Mr. Novikov has raised.

Mr. DE LAVELEYE (speaking in French; English version as delivered by interpreter follows): Mr. President, if in your personal view it is wiser, as is suggested by the Delegate of the Soviet Union, to reserve this point until the Coordination Committee-I believe it is not the Steering Committee-has expressed its opinion, then I am prepared to bow to your ruling. But I would ask why this Commission should not equally, with the Committee which is making the report, be competent to discuss this question which falls within its terms of reference. PRESIDENT: Yes. Mr. Novikov has asked that this question be reserved for the consideration of the Steering Committee, and Mr. de Laveleye has asked that it should preferably go to the Coordination Committee. According to the rules I have to

Mr. DE LAVELEYE (speaking in English, interposing from the floor): I am sorry, Mr. President. My intention was that either, if you desired it, we could wait until the question comes back from what I assume to be the Coordination Committee, and not the Steering Committee, because I don't know what the Steering Committee would have to do with such a question, or then to discuss it here.

PRESIDENT: I am bound by the procedure that we have followed so far and the procedure that has been laid down by the Steering Committee is quite clear, and it is this: that the Steering Committee shall consider any major policy or procedure question submitted to it during the Conference by the co-presidents or the chairman of any delegation. Mr. Novikov, as leader of the Soviet Delegation, asks that this matter be referred to the Steering Committee. He has not gone into details. I do not know whether it is a matter of form or a matter of substance but if he wants to raise a matter of substance in regard to the election of the Secretary-General, it is quite within his competence to take it to the Steering Committee.

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I am, therefore, bound, by our rules, to decide that he is within his rights in claiming that this question shall go to the Steering Committee. And the Steering Committee may decide on it or take any such action as it may think necessary. They may prefer to send it in to the Coordination Committee. But I am bound to accede to this request of the Soviet Delegate to submit this matter to the Steering Committee and to cut it out from this report and I rule accordingly. The next recommendation is in the first paragraph on page 3, referring to the Election of Judges, and I ask the Rapporteur to read that sentence.

RAPPORTEUR (speaking in Russian; English version as delivered by interpreter follows):

The Committee recommends that the General Assembly participate in the election of the judges of the International Court of Justice in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of the Court.

PRESIDENT: Any remarks on this recommendation, Gentlemen? No remarks? Agreed to.

The next item refers to the Apportionment of Expenses and to Approval of the Budget. Will the Rapporteur please read that

section.

RAPPORTEUR (speaking in Russian; English version as delivered by interpreter follows):

Apportionment of Expenses and Approval of the Budget (Chapter V, Section B, paragraph 5). The majority of the Committee considered it undesirable to specify in the Charter the basis for allocating expenses among the members or to set forth detailed procedures regarding the preparation and approval of the budget. After consultation with representatives of Committee II/3, however, the Committee decided to amplify somewhat the provisions of the Dumbarton Oaks Proposals on this point with respect to budgets.

The Committee recommends that the General Assembly be empowered to apportion the expenses among the members and to consider and approve the budgets of the Organization as well as any financial and budgetary arrangements with specialized agencies brought into relationship with the Organization under the provisions of Chapter IX, Section A, paragraph 2.

PRESIDENT: Any remarks on this recommendation, Gentlemen? No remarks? Agreed to.

Next section, Voting Rights.

RAPPORTEUR (Speaking in Russian; English version as delivered by interpreter follows):

Voting Rights (Chapter V, Section C, paragraph 1). The Committee recommends that each member state shall have one vote in the General Assembly. It recommends also that states failing to fulfil their financial obligations should be deprived of all voting rights in the Assembly as long as they are in arrears. In its discussions of this matter, the experience of the League of Nations was cited as indicating the need for such a penalty.

The Committee agreed that the Charter should specify the period which should elapse before a member in arrears should be subject to this penalty and it recommends that this period be two years. It also recommends that the General Assembly should be empowered to waive this penalty if the default of a member is due to causes beyond its control.