THE UN CHARTER AS AN INTERNATIONAL LEGAL BASIS FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES TO WHICH INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS ARE PARTIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51989/NUL.2026.3.30Keywords:
UN Charter, international organizations, peaceful settlement of international disputes, international legal personality, constituent instrument, International Court of Justice, advisory jurisdiction, core rules.Abstract
The article examines the place of the Charter of the United Nations in the international legal basis for the settlement of disputes to which international organizations are parties or participants. It is argued that the significance of the Charter is not limited to its role as the constituent treaty of the United Nations. It simultaneously defines the legal foundations for the functioning of the Organization, enshrines the fundamental principles of contemporary international law, in particular the principle of the peaceful settlement of international disputes, systematizes the principal means of such settlement, and creates the institutional basis for the participation of United Nations organs and the International Court of Justice in the relevant processes. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between Article 2, paragraph 3, and Article 33 of the Charter. It is demonstrated that Article 2, paragraph 3, is directly addressed to Member States and does not, in itself, establish a treaty obligation for international organizations. At the same time, the principle of peaceful settlement enshrined in the Charter has broader general international legal significance and defines the normative and interpretative context for the activities of international organizations. The peaceful means listed in Article 33 form an open and non-hierarchical system of generally recognized procedures which may also be used by international organizations. Their availability, however, does not imply a general obligation to employ a particular procedure or to proceed sequentially from negotiations to arbitration or judicial settlement. The choice of a specific means depends on the nature of the dispute, the competence of the organization, the consent of the parties, lex specialis, and the rules of the relevant forum. The UN Charter is considered a central, though not self-sufficient, component of the system of core rules, which determine the initial normative, competence-related, procedural, and institutional parameters for the settlement of a particular dispute. The incorporation of the Statute of the International Court of Justice into the constituent system of the Organization gives this basis a judicial-jurisdictional dimension, although contentious proceedings before the Court remain open only to States. It is concluded that the UN Charter does not establish a complete procedural regime for all disputes involving international organizations but forms a general legal framework within which specific rights, obligations, jurisdictional bases, and settlement procedures are determined by constituent instruments of organizations, special treaties, arbitration agreements, rules on immunities and responsibility, and the rules of the relevant procedures.
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