Sixty-first General Assembly

Sixth Committee

25^th Meeting (PM)

SIXTH COMMITTEE DECIDES TO CONTINUE CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSALS FOR UNITED NATIONS

SYSTEM OF JUSTICE, AS IT CONCLUDESCURRENT SESSION

 

The General Assembly, at its sixty-second session, would decide to continue its consideration of the legal aspects, both institutional and procedural, of the Secretary-General’s comments on a report of the Redesign Panel on the United Nations system of administration of justice, according to a draft decision approved by the Sixth Committee (Legal), as it concluded its 10-day resumed session this afternoon.

By that text, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to provide terms of reference for the Office of the Ombudsman and mediation, and for statutes of the proposed, two-tier formal system of justice administration -- expected to consist of a “first instance” and an “appellate instance”, where the appellate instance would review decisions rendered by the first instance.  The draft decision would have the Secretary-General refer to the Points of Agreement annexed to a letter of the Vice-Chairman of the Sixth Committee, Ganeson Sivagurunathan, to the President of the General Assembly.

The text also says that the Secretary-General’s recommendations should be in accordance with any further decisions the General Assembly might make on the recommendation of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budget), which is considering the budgetary aspects of the proposed justice system.

The Committee also adopted a draft resolution approving observer status for the Islamic Development Bank Group in the General Assembly, introduced by the representative of Saudi Arabia, with the representative of Cyprus saying her country did not wish to associate itself with the consensus.  According to her Government, any institution acquiring observer status within the General Assembly should be seen to uphold United Nations principles and to comply with the Organization’s decisions.

At the same time, the representative of Israel said her country would continue its consideration on the matter, while voicing concern over the Bank’s past relations with Hamas.  The Bank’s organizational chart also showed that it had operated Al Aqsa and Al Quds funds, which had known ties to terror groups. 

Prior to completing its resumed session, the Committee adopted its revised programme of work for the sixty-second session of the General Assembly.

Action on Draft Resolution

The Committee first took up the draft resolution on the observer status for the Islamic Development Bank Group in the General Assembly (document A/C.6/61/L.20), in which the Assembly would decide to invite that Group to participate in the work of the General Assembly in the capacity of observer.

The draft was approved without a vote.

Explanation of Position

Speaking in explanation of position after adoption of the draft resolution, the representative of Cyprus said her country did not wish to associate itself with the consensus, saying it opposed granting observer status to the Islamic Development Bank Group.  Any institution acquiring observer status within the General Assembly should be seen to uphold United Nations principles and to comply with the Organization’s decisions.

She said the Group had participated in illegal visits to the occupied part of Cyprus, in violation of the country’s sovereignty and domestic legal order, and had gone against international law, the provisions of the United Nations Charter and that of Security Council resolutions 541 and 550, which barred the provision of assistance to the “secessionist entities” present there.  Institutions granted the privilege of participating in the Assembly’s work must show a desire to mainstream international standards and international law stemming from the work of the United Nations, rather than engaging in questionable practices that adversely affected Member States.

The representative of Israel said her country was concerned with the Bank’s past relations with Hamas.  In addition, the Bank’s organizational chart showed that it had operated Al Aqsa and Al Quds funds, which had known ties to terror groups.  Israel would continue its consideration on the matter.

The representative of Saudi Arabia thanked delegates for their cooperation on the resolution.  The Bank did not engage in activity that contravened the United Nations Charter, but had enjoyed a long relationship with the United Nations.  If any delegates had cause to question the matter, Saudi Arabia would be happy to respond.

Statement by Vice-Chairman on Administration of Justice

Committee Vice-Chairman GANESON SIVAGURUNATHAN of ( Malaysia) then turned the Committee’s attention to the administration of justice at the United Nations, saying that during the Working Group’s nine meetings, the Committee had recognized that the new system needed to be independent, transparent, professionalized, and consist of both an informal and a formal system.

The informal system needed to be strengthened through means which could include an integrated -- but decentralized -- office of the Ombudsman, and reinforced mediation function he said.  It was also noted that a complaint pending before the informal system should not be brought in parallel to the formal system and that parties were precluded from litigating claims covered by an agreement reached through mediation.  Mediation provided suitable dispute settlement alternatives to lengthy and more costly formal litigation.  Furthermore, legal assistance needed to continue being provided to persons eligible under the system, but also needed to be further strengthening.  In addition, before a complaint was submitted to the formal system, management needed to be given the opportunity to review the contested decision within a specified short time.

He said that the formal system should comprise of two tiers, consisting of a first instance and an appellate instance, rendering binding decisions and ordering appropriate remedies.  While the decentralized first instance should replace the existing Joint Appeals Board and Joint Disciplinary Committees, according to the annex, the appellate instance should review decisions rendered by the first instance.  Regarding grounds for appeal, those needed to be discussed further.

Turning to other points, he said judges needed to be highly qualified professionals of recognized judicial standing.  Also, procedures in the system needed to be consistent with relevant rules of international law and recognized principles of the rule of law and due process.  Furthermore, while there should be no exemplary or punitive damages rewarded, the question of accessibility to the system for persons currently without adequate protection, needed to be further considered.  Finally, related issues requiring further consideration included -- among others -- the lifting of the two-year cap on compensatory claims, the question of administrative review, and the financial accountability of staff.

It was also agreed, he said, that he would write a letter to the General Assembly President transmitting the points of agreement which had emerged from the Committee meetings, with a request that the letter -- together with its annexes -- be brought to the attention of the Fifth Committee.  Copies of the letter and its annexes had been made available to delegations and discussed by the Working Group.  The Vice-Chair would sign and send that letter after completing the Committee’s work at the resumed session.

Action on Draft Decision

The Committee then considered draft decision on administration of justice at the United Nations (document A/C.6/61/L.21/Rev.1) in which the Assembly would decide to continue, at its sixty-second session in the Sixth Committee, its consideration of the legal aspects of the Secretary-General’s comments on the Redesign Panel’s report on the United Nations administration of justice, taking into account the outcome of the Fifth Committee’s resumed session, and the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ).  It would also request the Secretary-General to provide more details on a proposal to strengthen the functions of the office of the Ombudsman, including mediation, and draft elements of statutes of the first instance and of the appellate instance.

The draft was adopted without a vote.

Explanations of Position

The representative of the Russian Federation said he was satisfied with the result, but he would not want it to become a common practice in the Sixth Committee to present draft texts only in English.  The Secretariat was asked to take all necessary measures to ensure translation of future documents into all official United Nations languages.

The Vice Chairman, Mr. SIVAGURUNATHAN ( Malaysia) assured Members of the Committee that that particular text would indeed be translated into all the United Nations languages.

The representative of Norway thanked the Vice Chair for his able leadership, and other delegates for their constructive cooperation.

The representative of Colombia, speaking on administration of justice, said his delegation believed that versions in official languages needed to be on equal footing, so that there was no hierarchy among the versions.

The representative of the Dominican Republic expressed agreement with Colombia’s delegate.  He suggested that a footnote be added to indicate that, in Spanish, the terms “judicial” and “extra-judicial” were the equivalent of the English terms “formal” and “informal”.

The representative of Guatemala said today’s meeting was not an appropriate forum for a discussion on terminology and translation.  It had been agreed that there would be further discussion of the topic among Spanish-speaking delegates and translators at a later time.  The terms “judicial” and “extra-judicial” did not mean the same as “formal” and “informal”, as used in English texts.

The representative of Colombia said he and the delegate of the Dominican Republic had a right to raise procedural and substantive points at the present meeting if they wished.  They had not intended to start a debate on judicial concepts, but to stress the need for future Spanish-language documents on the subject to use the same terms found in the original Spanish-language documents published by the Redesign Panel.

The representative of France, agreeing with the statement made by the Russian Federation, said it was important that the draft be translated into all languages.

The Committee then took up the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly, with the Vice-Chair noting that it had become necessary to make re-adjustments to the provisional programme of work.  Those rearrangements allowed for more flexibility for holding working group discussions, and for a more efficient use of conference services.

The revised programme of work was adopted without a vote.

Explanations after Decision

The representative of Egypt voiced concern about the overlap between the working hours of the Sixth Committee and the law of the sea negotiations, saying that could have been avoided.

The representative of Germany, agreeing with the representative of Egypt, hoped that such overlap would be reduced in the future. 

The representative of Canada said he wished to echo the comments of Egypt and Germany.

The Vice Chairman said he was well aware of the overlaps in the provisional agenda, but said it had been impossible to avoid.  However, the programme of work was still a provisional one, and could be taken up for discussion by the next Bureau if needed.

The representatives of Germany and Pakistan raised questions about the wisdom of having three items scheduled on the same day -- 26 October.

The Vice Chairman assured Members that some topics were not expected to take up the entire session.

To conclude, the Vice-Chairman said that the Chairman wished to have informal consultations on the rule of law at the national and international levels to take place on 29 March.

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For information media • not an official record