International Organisations | LLB Entrance Notes

United Nations: UNGA, UNSC, ICJ, ECOSOC and Other Principal Organs

The United Nations is an international organisation founded in 1945. Its purposes and institutional framework are set out in the Charter of the United Nations. The Charter establishes six principal organs: the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice and Secretariat.

United Nations - Foundation and Membership

The Charter of the United Nations was signed at San Francisco on 26 June 1945 and entered into force on 24 October 1945, which is observed as United Nations Day.

The UN began with 51 original members. It now has 193 Member States. South Sudan became the 193rd Member State on 14 July 2011.

United Nations Headquarters and Languages

United Nations Headquarters is in New York. The UN has six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

The first session of the General Assembly opened on 10 January 1946 in London. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the General Assembly on 10 December 1948, a date observed annually as Human Rights Day.

Six Principal Organs of the United Nations

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)

The General Assembly is the main deliberative and representative organ of the United Nations. All 193 Member States are represented and each Member State has one vote.

A Member State may send a delegation of representatives, but the State still has only one vote. The first President of the General Assembly was Paul-Henri Spaak of Belgium.

Voting in the General Assembly

Important questions are decided by a two-thirds majority of members present and voting. Other questions are generally decided by a majority of members present and voting.

Important questions include matters such as:

• recommendations concerning international peace and security;
• election of non-permanent members of the Security Council;
• election of members of ECOSOC;
• admission, suspension or expulsion of Member States; and
• budgetary questions.

Current General Assembly Presidency - September 2026

The 80th session of the General Assembly runs until 8 September 2026 and is presided over by Annalena Baerbock of Germany. Khalilur Rahman of Bangladesh has been elected President of the 81st session, which follows the 80th session.

Secretariat and Secretary-General

The Secretariat performs the day-to-day work of the United Nations. The Secretary-General is the UN's Chief Administrative Officer and is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a five-year renewable term.

• First Secretary-General: Trygve Lie of Norway.
• Current Secretary-General: Antonio Guterres of Portugal, the ninth Secretary-General.

United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

The Security Council has 15 members: five permanent members and ten non-permanent members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms.

Permanent Members - P5

• China
• France
• Russian Federation
• United Kingdom
• United States

Non-Permanent Members in 2026

The ten elected members serving during 2026 are: Bahrain, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Greece, Latvia, Liberia, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia.

Security Council Voting

Each Council member has one vote. Decisions on procedural matters require the affirmative votes of nine members. Decisions on other matters require nine affirmative votes, including the concurring votes of the permanent members, subject to the Charter's voting rule and established practice concerning abstentions.

International Court of Justice (ICJ)

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It is seated at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands and began its work in 1946.

The Court consists of 15 judges elected for nine-year terms by the General Assembly and Security Council voting independently. English and French are the Court's official languages.

Jurisdiction and Functions

• settles legal disputes submitted to it by States in accordance with international law; and
• gives advisory opinions on legal questions referred by authorised UN organs and specialised agencies.

As of 2026, the President of the ICJ is Judge Iwasawa Yuji of Japan. Indian jurists who have served as ICJ judges include Benegal Narsing Rau, Nagendra Singh, Raghunandan Swarup Pathak and Dalveer Bhandari.

Ex Aequo et Bono

Article 38(2) of the ICJ Statute permits the Court to decide a case ex aequo et bono - according to what is equitable and good - only if the parties agree.

Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

ECOSOC is a principal UN organ responsible for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues and internationally agreed development goals.

It has 54 members, elected by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms.

Trusteeship Council

The Trusteeship Council was established to supervise the administration of Trust Territories and support their progress toward self-government or independence. Following the independence of Palau, the last remaining UN Trust Territory, the Council formally suspended operations on 1 November 1994.

UN Specialized Agencies - Important for Exams

Specialized agencies are autonomous international organisations brought into relationship with the United Nations through agreements. Important examples include:

Principal Organs at a Glance

These notes are intended for legal education and entrance-examination revision. Current memberships and office-holders can change; for authoritative and updated information, consult the official United Nations and International Court of Justice websites.