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and assistance, as specified in the original text. These changes cannot but sharpen considerably the edge of the sword which will ultimately be placed in the hands of the Security Council.

Another significant change from the Dumbarton Oaks text provides that the Security Council shall take the lead in negotiating the special agreements which, instead of being concluded among the member states, are to be concluded between the states on one side either individually or in groups—and the Security Council itself on the other. Originally suggested at the Conference by the Delegations of Australia and New Zealand, the new provision will not only expedite the conclusion of the special agreements but will also make for a more rational arrangement in that the party which will have to call for the forces and direct their use, namely the Security Council, will be the same party to which are owed the obligations to provide them.

This change is also of considerable legal significance in that the member states, by the very act of signing the Charter, collectively recognize the legal capacity of the Security Council to conclude agreements with them. The novelty of this concept, while noteworthy, is greatly over-shadowed by its ready and unanimous acceptance at the Conference, where many of the representatives were experts in international law. It must be observed, however, that this departure is not wholly new. The League of Nations was on various occasions party to agreements with sovereign states; and even the United States, which was not a member of the League, concluded certain agreements with the Council of the League.

The special agreements provide for a structure which still remains to be erected. Article 43 does not enable the Security Council to exercise its functions of enforcement. It only obliges the Member states to negotiate and conclude with the Security Council as soon as possible the special agreements which will provide to the Organization the bones and muscle of authority. Negotiation of the agreements cannot be begun, of course, until the Security Council is in existence and therefore considerable time may elapse before the conclusion of these agreements and the availability of forces to the Council. This fact should be clearly borne in mind in any appraisal of the potentialities of the United Nations in dealing with situations during the period pending the coming into effect of these agreements.

It has an important bearing upon the question of transitional security arrangements discussed in Chapter XVII, and of mutual assistance treaties discussed in Chapter VIII.

AIR FORCE CONTINGENTS

Special provision is made in Article 45 for national air-force contingents which the member states are to hold immediately available to the Organization for military measures of special urgency. Certain delegations at first questioned the wisdom of giving a unique place to air forces and observed that a militarily realistic conception demands the provision from the outset of all the branches of armed forces. However, they expressed themselves as wholly satisfied with the explanation that this was already provided for in substance by virtue of the addition of the requirement in Article 43 that the special agreements should provide for the degree of readiness in which contingents of forces should be held. Although this change might make Article 45 less necessary than before, the majority of the countries felt that the great and immediate striking power of air forces over long distances, warranted a special provision with respect to that branch of military power and particular emphasis on the immediate availability of air force contingents.

MILITARY STAFF COMMITTEE

Another significant feature of Chapter VII is the creation of the Military Staff Committee, a wholly new type of agency. This Committee will consist of the Chiefs of Staff of the permanent members of the Security Council or their representatives, and will be a permanent international body. It will advise and assist the Security Council in all problems which are military in nature or which have military implications. Its responsibilities under the Security Council will include the strategic direction of any armed forces placed at the disposal of the Council. In addition, it will advise the Council as to the special agreements envisaged in Article 43, and prepare plans for the application of the armed forces made available through those agreements.

This innovation is in reality but one of the many examples of the manner in which the experience of the present war has been

drawn upon in drafting the Charter. What has been done was simply to take the idea of the Combined Chiefs of Staff which played such a significant role in Anglo-American strategic planning and direction. and adjust it to the needs of the new Organization.

The Military Staff Committee is given power in Article 47 to establish regional sub-committees. This is a change from the Dumbarton Oaks Proposals which (in Chapter VI, Section D, Paragraph 2) gave this power directly to the Security Council. Before setting up these subcommittees, the Military Staff Committee, acting under the authorization of the Security Council, is to consult with the appropriate regional agencies, but the Staff Committee will have the final decision. As finally included in the Charter, this clause combines a Sponsoring Power amendment with an addition introduced by Peru during the discussion of more radical suggestions of Uruguay and Bolivia. In keeping with the provision in Article 53 for the use of regional agencies, where appropriate, in enforcement action, this amendment constitutes a recognition of the important role of regional agencies in the Organization.

There was originally some sentiment for the permanent or ad hoc enlargement of the Military Staff Committee itself, through the inclusion of representatives of member states other than the five permanent members of the Security Council. The Conference, however, decided by a large majority that concern for efficiency, for permanency of membership, and for apportioning military responsibility according to military capacity, dictated leaving the membership unchanged.

OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS OF MEMBERS

While security and world peace are of universal concern, the realities of geography must also be considered. This applies especially, though not solely, to the lesser powers, whose military effectiveness in areas remote from their home territories is likely to be slight. One must recognize also a distinction between the world-wide responsibilities of the great powers and the more restricted scope of activities of the lesser states. These considerations are accounted for in Article 48, Paragraph 1, which provides in substance that the Security Council may determine in each instance which states or groups of states are to carry out its decisions. In addition, this Article

provides that the member states shall fulfill their undertakings not only directly but also through their action in other international agencies of which they are members. Under this provision, for example, in the event of economic sanctions against a particular aggressor, the Members would use their influence to prevent the International Monetary Fund from giving financial or other assistance to that aggressor.

Article 49, which has been slightly altered in language, but not in substance, from the Dumbarton Oaks text, imposes another obligation upon Members, by requiring them to help each other in carrying out the measures decided upon by the Security Council.

These obligations are specific applications of the general duty of Members under Article 2, Paragraph 5, which requires all Members to give the Organization "every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the present Charter".

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It is obvious that a nation whose economic well-being depends heavily on trade with a particular state will suffer unduly from the imposition of a blockade or of other economic sanctions against the latter state. Similarly, a nation which grants rights of passage to forces which are executing the decisions of the Security Council may, especially if the state which is the target of the sanctions is a neighbor, suffer a well-nigh complete disruption of its economic life. Such problems are especially likely to arise in the case of the smaller states, and it is towards relieving as much as possible such disproportionate burdens that Article 50 is directed. These two Articles vide for a world-wide adjustment, by equitable distribution of the economic burden of sanctions, to the accidents of geography and of international trade. It was specifically the understanding of the Conference that the obligation imposed by those paragraphs extends to financial problems. It is also noteworthy that under Article 50 the privilege of consulting the Security Council in regard to the solution of special problems arising from the imposition of sanctions is extended to states which are not Members of the Organization. The Charter, through Article 2, Paragraph 6, and Article 103 also provides protection for the Members against non-members in case the fulfilment of obligations under Articles 48, 49, and 50 should involve difficulties with non-member states.

CONCLUSION

Taken together, the provisions of Chapter VII constitute a noteworthy step forward in international organization. They concentrate authority in one body and give that body the power and the means to assert its authority. On the other hand, they furnish safeguards for nations which are asked to undertake heavy responsibilities The total effect is to strike a proper balance between what is essential if the organization is to be effective in maintaining peace and security and the realities which must be accepted in creating an association of sovereign states rather than a super-state.

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