Yours sincerely,
E. REID

[PIÈCE JOINTE / ENCLOSURE]

Mémorandum du chef, la deuxième direction politique Memorandum by Head, Second Political Division

[Ottawa,] August 27, 1946

DRAFT RESOLUTION CLARIFYING THE MEANING OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE CHARTER ON THE PACIFIC SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES BY THE SECURITY COUNCIL

Since certain obscurities in the provisions of the Charter on the pacific settlement of disputes by the Security Council have given rise to difficulties in their practical application, the General Assembly approves of the follow­ing restatement of the provisions of the Charter dealing with the pacific settlement of disputes by the Security Council.

I. UNDERTAKINGS OF MEMBERS OF THE UNITED NATIONS

1. Each Member of the United Nations undertakes that:

If it is a party to an international dispute, it will seek a solution by peaceful means so that the maintenance of international peace and security will not be endangered. (Article 2, paragraph 3; Article 33, paragraph 1.);

If it is a party to an international dispute which endangers inter­national peace and security and it fails to settle it by peaceful means, it will refer it to the Security Council. (Article 37, paragraph 1.)

II. METHODS BY WHICH DISPUTES OR SITUATIONS MAY BE BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL

2. The General Assembly or any Member of the United Nations or the Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any international dispute or any situation, provided that the situation is one which might lead to international friction or give rise to an international dispute. (Article 11, paragraph 3; Article 35, paragraph 1; Article 99.)

3. A state which is not a Member of the United Nations may bring to the attention of the Security Council any international dispute to which it is a party, provided that it accepts in advance, so far as this dispute is concerned, the undertakings of Members set forth in paragraph 1 above. (Article 35, paragraph 2).

III. PROCEDURES IN SECURITY COUNCIL

4. As soon as a dispute or situation has been brought to the attention of the Security Council, it shall be placed on the agenda of the Security Council by the Secretary-General and no vote by the Security Council shall be required in order to authorize its inclusion on the agenda.

5. Subject to the exception noted in paragraph 10 below, the Security Council has the right to deal with a dispute or a situation only if a con­tinuance of that dispute or situation is likely to endanger international peace and security. Therefore, the first step the Security Council must take, once a dispute or a situation has been brought to its attention, is to deter­mine whether a continuation of the dispute or situation is likely to endanger international peace and security. This may require a preliminary investiga­tion by the Council of the dispute or situation but this preliminary in­vestigation shall be limited to the question whether the dispute or situation is likely to endanger international peace and security. For the purpose of such a preliminary investigation, the Council may appoint a committee of enquiry which may exercise its functions elsewhere than at the ,seat of the United Nations. (Article 34).

6. Once the Council has determined that a dispute or situation is likely to endanger international peace and security the Council has the duty to deal with it for the Members of the United Nations have, in order to ensure prompt and effective action by the United Nations, conferred on the Security Council primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. (Article 24, paragraph 1.)

7. Having determined that a dispute or situation is one which it has the duty to deal with, the Security Council may take any or all of the following three courses of action in any order it sees fit:

It may remind the parties to a dispute of their undertaking to settle it by peaceful means of their own choice (Article 33, paragraph 2);

It may recommend to the states parties to a dispute or concerned in a situation that they adopt those certain particular peaceful means or methods of adjustment which, in the opinion of the Security Council, seem to be most likely to succeed (Article 33, paragraph 2);

It may recommend terms of settlement to the parties to a dispute (Article 36, paragraph 1).

8. In deciding between the three possible courses of action, the Council should take into consideration:

(a) any procedures for the settlement of a dispute which have already been adopted by the parties (Article 36, paragraph 2), and that

(b) as a general rule, legal disputes should be referred by the parties to the International Court of Justice in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of the Court. (Article 36, paragraph 3.)

9. The Security Council shall encourage the development of pacific settle­ment of local disputes through regional arrangements or agencies, provided that such arrangements or agencies and their activities are consistent with the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations. (Article 52, paragraphs 1 and 3).

IV. DISPUTES WHICH DO NOT ENDANGER INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY

10. The Security Council may, if all the parties to any dispute so request, deal with the dispute even though it is not one likely to endanger inter­national peace and security and the Council may make recommendations to the parties with a view to a pacific settlement of the dispute. (Article 38.)

V. VOTING IN THE SECURITY COUNCIL

11. A party to a dispute shall abstain from voting on all decisions under Chapter VI and under paragraph 3 of Article 52, whether on procedural matters or on other matters. (Article 27, paragraphs 2 and 3).

12. Decisions of the Council on procedural matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of seven members. Procedural matters shall be deemed to include:

decisions on whether the Security Council has the duty to deal with a dispute or situation (i.e., whether the dispute or situation is likely to endanger international peace and security), and decisions leading up to that decision (e.g., a decision to appoint a committee of enquiry to make a preliminary investigation of the question whether a dispute or situation is likely to endanger international peace and security.)

13. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 11, decisions of the Council on all other matters relating to the peaceful settlement of disputes shall be made by an affirmative vote of seven members including the concurring votes of the permanent members.

¹Cette déclaration ne fut pas prononcée. Le Canada s'est abstenu lors du vote. Voir Nations Unies, Documents officiels de la se­conde partie de la première session de l'assemblée générale, Séances plénières de l'assemblée générale, cinquante-neuvième séance plénière, 12 décembre 1946, p. 1222.
¹This statement was not presented. Canada abstained on the vote. See United Nations, Official Records of the Second Part of the First Session of the General Assembly, Plen­ary Meetings of the General Assembly, Fifty-ninth Plenary Meeting, December 12, 1946, p. /222.