Sixty-third General Assembly

Sixth Committee

8^th Meeting (AM)

LEGAL COMMITTEE TOLD OBSERVANCE OF STRONG RULE OF LAW

 

RELEVANT TO PROMOTION OF STABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

 

Need for ‘Just Regulations’ in Current Global Financial Crisis Stressed

While the rule of law was all too often applied only to political or legal matters in the context of post-conflict settings, the current global economic crisis demonstrated that a strong rule of law could be helpful in promoting fair and stable economic development, the Observer of the Holy See told the Sixth Committee (Legal) this morning as the current debate on the matter concluded.

The interconnected nature of the global market had increased the need for debate, and the implementation of the rule of law, so as to establish a more just global economic system, he added.  In the developing world, the rule of law could provide stability for economic and social growth.  In the developed world, just regulations could ensure greater economic stability and fairness.

The representative of Azerbaijan also called for a strengthening of the Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group at the United Nations, along with its supportive Rule of Law Assistance Unit.  He said the new mechanism, created only last year, had shown promise in enhancing coordination and coherence of United Nations rule of law activities.  Financing should come through the ordinary United Nations budget.

Also calling for funding of the Group and Unit to be covered by the regular budget, South Africa’s representative said the rule of law was of particular concern to her country; before 1994, there had been complete disregard of human rights and the rule of law.

Mexico’s representative said coordination of the United Nations system should be enhanced and a coherent policy on rule of law adopted, complete with the necessary tools to be fully operational.  By next year, a substantive debate should take place on rule of law guidelines for a fairer and more just world.

The observer of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) said his group had been engaged in promoting the rule of law for the past 25 years.  The approaches set forth in the Secretary-General’s guidelines would be fully integrated into his organization’s strategic framework.

Finally, the observer of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) said his group helped to build capacity among States to address issues related to law at both international and national levels, so as to create strong and efficient legal systems enabling cooperation among States.  At a time of general economic anxiety and financial crisis, the rule of law contributed to the stability of international financial institutions.

The Sixth Committee will next meet in plenary at 10 a.m. on Monday, 20 October, to take up the report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).

Background

The Sixth Committee met this morning to continue its discussion on the rule of law.  (For background information, see Press Release GA/L/3343 of 13 October.)

Statements

THANISA NAIDU ( South Africa) said the rule of law was a topic South Africa took particular cognizance of, in light of its experience before 1994--a time characterized by complete disregard of human rights and the rule of law.  However, through a democratic process, South Africa had, since then, established a constitutional legal system, with a constitution containing a Bill of Rights, as the highest law of the land.

She said the inventory presented by the Secretary-General was instructional because it resulted in the domestic awareness that rights must be protected by law.  Any dispute about such rights must, therefore, be resolved not by some arbitrary discretion, but had to be consistently capable of being submitted for adjudication to a competent, impartial and independent tribunal.

Expressing appreciation for the work of the Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group at the United Nations, she said this Group would help to strengthen the activities of the Organization to promote the rule of law.  She said she therefore supported funding of the Rule of Law Unit through the Organization’s regular budget.  Noting that South Africa was a founding member of the International Criminal Court, she pledged support for the ad hoc tribunals set up by the Security Council; impunity for crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes, and the like, must not be tolerated.

ALEJANDRO ALDAY (Mexico), speaking in his national capacity, said that, in 2006, Liechtenstein and Mexico had requested that the rule of law topic be discussed by the General Assembly and then the Sixth Committee; both nations thought the United Nations needed to strengthen the organization of its work in this field.  Since then, at the institutional level, clear progress had been made through the Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group and the Rule of Law Unit.

For example, there was now an inventory on rule of law activities which, under specific headings, included information on the areas in which the international community could better promote the rule of law at the national and international levels.

Taking up the Secretary-General’s report, document A/63/226, he said the premises of the document were clear:  to strengthen the rule of law through the promotion of common values.  Thus, to strengthen the rule of law at the international level, it was necessary to promote the development of a mechanism in the United Nations system, such as the International Criminal Court.  Turning to rule of law activities at the national level, he said these were directly linked with common values, as shown through international commitments made by every State.  However, it was necessary to continue to develop an in-depth understanding of the political context and national needs and aspirations of each State; the rule of law was not something that could be imposed externally.

At the institutional level, it was important to enhance the coordination of the United Nations system.  In particular, the United Nations must have a coherent policy on the rule of law and avoid duplication in this work.  The Rule of Law Unit must also be equipped with the necessary tools to be fully operational.  During the upcoming session, he trusted that the Sixth Committee would have the capacity to ensure that, by next year, a substantive debate would take place on rule of law guidelines to provide for a fairer and more just world.

ASIF GARAYEV ( Azerbaijan) said the culture of impunity and lack of responsibility currently prevailing was a grave undermining of the rule of law.  There must be renewed effort towards strengthening national capacities to investigate and prosecute international crimes.  That was particularly true in national and international transitional justice and accountability mechanisms.  Armed conflicts based on movements seeking to break from part of a State to become independent, or become incorporated into another State, represented the most difficult cases, because they often led to large-scale military interventions, causing extensive violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.

He said serious breaches of obligations flowing from peremptory norms of public international law could have additional consequences affecting other States.  States must cooperate with a view to ending such breaches by lawful means.  It was generally recognized that those breaches included aggression, genocide and racial discrimination.  The International Law Commission had clarified the point in 2001, among others.  He said the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights had set out the principles of inalienable rights, including those of justice and peace, but the gap between theoretical values of law and harsh reality impeded the application in practice of the rich potential of international law standards.

He said the Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group, along with the Rule of Law Assistance Unit, had appeared to be promising in the ability to enhance coordination and coherence of United Nations activities related to the rule of law.  Financing should come through the ordinary United Nations budget.  Furthermore, to facilitate the Legal Committee’s work, sub-topics should be chosen annually for a focused discussion based on a hierarchy of norms and principles, moving from general to particular.

CELESTINO MIGLIORE, Permanent Observer, Holy See, said the rule of law was a vital component for assisting States in their responsibility to protect.  It also provided the ability for the international community to intervene when a State was unable or unwilling to exercise that fundamental responsibility to protect its people.  That capacity to intervene should be seen not only in the form of Security Council actions or the use of force.  It was also international cooperation to help States with capacity building and legal expertise in the field of protection.

While the rule of law was all too often applied only to political or legal matters in the context of post-conflict settings, he continued, the current economic crisis demonstrated that a strong rule of law could be helpful in promoting fair and stable economic development.  The interconnected nature of the global market had increased the need for debate and implementation of the rule of law, so as to establish a more just global economic system.  In the developing world, the rule of law could provide stability for economic and social growth; in the developed world, just regulations could ensure greater economic stability and fairness.

The capacities of the Rule of Law Group and Unit at the United Nations should be enhanced to enable them to meet the needs of States for technical and logical expertise.  In addition, the Legal Committee itself was a platform for establishing normative frameworks and the means for arbitrating legal disputes and mechanisms of accountability.  In the area of enhancing the rule of law through the making of treaties and conventions, the United Nations should ensure that its agencies and monitoring bodies respected the intent and desire of States.  A treaty body system that moved away from the original intent, and expanded its mandates beyond the power given by States, risked undermining its own credibility and legitimacy.

PATRIZIO CIVILI, International Development Law Organization (IDLO), speaking as a permanent observer to the United Nations, called the Sixth Committee’s consideration of the rule of law a “rallying point” in IDLO relations between his organization and the United Nations.  Through the Committee’s work, he said, the International Development Law Organization could learn a great deal about the direction its activities could most profitably take, to maximize its contribution to the overall effort of the international community to further the rule of law.  The deliberations of the Sixth Committee and the General Assembly, in that regard, had served to reinforce principles and practices, such as national ownership of international assistance and the effort to privilege South-South cooperation, which had traditionally guided the work of his group.

He said the clearest message emanating from the Sixth Committee had been a strong emphasis on inter-agency coordination in rule of law work.  His organization was eager to contribute to the broader drive for greater coherence and effectiveness in the response of the international community to the needs of Member States.  Recalling the Secretary-General’s report on establishing principles and a common policy framework to steer United Nations rule of law activities, he said the Director General of the International Development Law Organization had indicated his intention to fully integrate the approaches set forth in the Secretary-General’s guidelines into the strategic framework guiding the law organization’s own rule of law activities.

He said the document with the inventory of rule of law activities illustrated the wide range of United Nations interventions that contributed to promoting the rule of law.  Also, document A/63/226 put forward valuable insights and contained a wealth of thoughtful recommendations on how this cause could be most profitably advanced.  Having been engaged in promoting the rule of law for the past 25 years, his organization strongly supported, and was greatly encouraged by, the growing priority the United Nations had been according this goal.  And it would put forward, at the disposal of United Nations Members, its experience in focusing rule of law assistance to maximize its contribution to social and economic progress.  Sharing these insights and experience was a crucial part of his organization’s value to the international community and to the United Nations, in its observer capacity.

BHAGWAT SINGH, Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO), speaking as a permanent observer to the United Nations, said the core objective of his organization was to build capacity among its members to address law at both the international and national levels.  Without strong and efficient legal systems at all levels of government, the objective of peaceful cooperation among States and sustainable development became problematic, if not impossible.  Although the rule of law did not have a precise definition, in its most basic sense, it protected the rights of citizens, and created order and predictability in the functioning of nations and global society.

For the rule of law to be truly effective, he said, information had to be universally available.  There was also a need to increase help to developing nations and economies in transition, to build their electronic legal access and knowledge systems.  At a time of general economic anxiety and financial crisis, the rule of law could contribute by providing stability to international financial institutions.  Small farms and businesses in developing countries relied on the rule of law to provide security so that they could go forward with investment opportunities.  “The vagaries of world trade have made developing nations more aware of the benefits of increased reliance on local production and agriculture”, he said.  “To be effective, the rule of law needed to be clear with broad legal protection for all types of investments.”

Turning to the environment, he said that as the Earth faced unprecedented climate changes, steps must be taken to strengthen and implement legal frameworks to protect fragile ecosystems.  Member States should adhere to relevant United Nations conventions.  The rule of law existed to provide protections to all persons of the world equally, and was needed to ensure a healthy environment for all to thrive.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record