Declaration of Judge Spriopoulos (as appended immediately after the advisory opinion)

Document Number
049-19620720-ADV-01-01-EN
Parent Document Number
049-19620720-ADV-01-00-EN
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Bilingual Document File

Force undertaken in pursuance of General Assembly resolutions
997 (ES-1) of 2 November 1956, 998 (ES-1) and 999 (ES-1) of
4 November 1956, 1000 (ES-1) of 5 November 1956, 1001 (ES-1) of
7 November 1956, 1121 (XI) of 24 November 1956 and 1263 (XIII)
of 14 November 1958, constitute "expenses of the Organization"
within the meaning of Article 17, paragraph 2, of the Charter of
the United Nations.

Done in English and in French, the English text being authorita-
tive, at the Peace Palace, The Hague, thistwentiethday of July, one
thousand nine hundred and sixty-two, in two copies, one of which
will be placed in the archives of the Court and the other transmitted
to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

(Signed) B. WINIARSKI,
President .

(Signed) GARNER-COIGNET,
Registrar.

Judge SPIROPOULO mSakes the following declaration:

While accepting the Court's conclusion, 1 cannot agree with al1
the views put forward in the Advisory Opinion. In particular, 1
consider that the affirmative reply to the request for an opinion is
justified by the argument that the resolutions of the General As-
sembly authorizing the financing of the United Nations operations
in the Congo and the Middele East, being resolutions designed to
meet expenditure concerned with the fulfilment of the purposes of
the United Nations, which were adopted by two-thirds of the Mem-
bers of the General Assembly present and voting, create obliga-
tions for the Members of the United Nations.
1express no opinion as to the cocformity with the Charter of the
resolutions relating to the United Nations operations in the Congo
and the Middle East, for the following reasons:

The French delegation had proposed to the General Assembly the
acceptance of an amendment to the text, finally adopted by it,
according to which amendment the question put to the Court
would have become: "Were the expenditures authorized, etc. ...
decided on in conformity with the provisions of the Charter and,
if so, do they constitute 'expenses of the Organization' within the
meaning of Article 17, paragraph 2, of the Charter of the United
Nations ?"
On 20 December 1961, in the course of the meeting of the General
Assembly, this amendment was accompanied by a statement by the

33 181 CERTAIN EXPENSES OF U.N. (OPINION OF 20 VI162)
French delegation justifying the submission of the French amend-

ment and which, among other things, said:
"In the opinion of the French delegation, the question put to
the Court does not enable the latter to give a clear-cut opinion on
the juridical basis for the financial obligations of Member States.
The Court cannot, in fact, appraise the scope of those resolutions
without determining what obligations they may create for Member
States under the Charter.
It is for this reason that the French delegation is submitting to
the Assembly an amendment [AIL. 3781 the adoption of which
would enable the Court to determine whether or not the Assembly
resolutions concerning the financial implications of the United
Nations operations in the Congo and the Middle East are in con-
formity with the Charter. Only thus, if the matter is referred to the
Court, will it be done in such a way as to take into account the
scope and nature of the problems raised in the proposal to request
an opinion."
The French amendment was rejected.
The rejection of the French amendment by the General Assembly
seems to me to show the desire of the Assembly that the conformity
or non-conformity of the decisions of the Assembly and of the
Security Council concerning the United Nations operations in the

Congo and the Middle East should not be examined by the Court.
It seems natural, indeed, that the General Assembly should not
have wished that the Court should pronounce on the validity of
resolutions which have been applied for several years. In these
circumstances, 1have felt bound to refrain from pronouncing on
the conformity with the Charter of the resolutions relating to the
United Nations operations in the Congo and the Middle East.

Judges Sir Percy SPENDERS , ir Gerald FITZMAURICa End MORELLI
append to the Opinion of the Court statements of their Separate
Opinions.

President WINIARSKIand Judges BASDEVANTM , ORENOQUIN-
TANAK , ORETSKYand BUSTAMANT E RIVEROappend to the Opin-
ion of the Court statements of their Dissenting Opinions.

(Initialled) B.W.
(Initialled) G.-C.

Bilingual Content

Force undertaken in pursuance of General Assembly resolutions
997 (ES-1) of 2 November 1956, 998 (ES-1) and 999 (ES-1) of
4 November 1956, 1000 (ES-1) of 5 November 1956, 1001 (ES-1) of
7 November 1956, 1121 (XI) of 24 November 1956 and 1263 (XIII)
of 14 November 1958, constitute "expenses of the Organization"
within the meaning of Article 17, paragraph 2, of the Charter of
the United Nations.

Done in English and in French, the English text being authorita-
tive, at the Peace Palace, The Hague, thistwentiethday of July, one
thousand nine hundred and sixty-two, in two copies, one of which
will be placed in the archives of the Court and the other transmitted
to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

(Signed) B. WINIARSKI,
President .

(Signed) GARNER-COIGNET,
Registrar.

Judge SPIROPOULO mSakes the following declaration:

While accepting the Court's conclusion, 1 cannot agree with al1
the views put forward in the Advisory Opinion. In particular, 1
consider that the affirmative reply to the request for an opinion is
justified by the argument that the resolutions of the General As-
sembly authorizing the financing of the United Nations operations
in the Congo and the Middele East, being resolutions designed to
meet expenditure concerned with the fulfilment of the purposes of
the United Nations, which were adopted by two-thirds of the Mem-
bers of the General Assembly present and voting, create obliga-
tions for the Members of the United Nations.
1express no opinion as to the cocformity with the Charter of the
resolutions relating to the United Nations operations in the Congo
and the Middle East, for the following reasons:

The French delegation had proposed to the General Assembly the
acceptance of an amendment to the text, finally adopted by it,
according to which amendment the question put to the Court
would have become: "Were the expenditures authorized, etc. ...
decided on in conformity with the provisions of the Charter and,
if so, do they constitute 'expenses of the Organization' within the
meaning of Article 17, paragraph 2, of the Charter of the United
Nations ?"
On 20 December 1961, in the course of the meeting of the General
Assembly, this amendment was accompanied by a statement by the

33gence des Nations Unies entreprises en exécution des résolutkns
de l'Assembléegénérale: 997 (ES-1) du 2 novembre 1956, 998
(ES-1)et 999(ES-1)du 4 novembre 1956, 1000 (ES-1)du 5 novembre
1956, 1001 (ES-1) du 7 novembre 1956, 1121 (XI) du 24 novembre
1956 ct 1263 (XIII) du 14 novembre 1958, constituent des cdé-
penses de l'organisation »au sens du paragraphe 2 de l'article 17
de la Charte des Nations Unies.

Fait en anglais et en français, le texte anglais faisant foi, au
Palais de la Paix, à La Haye, le vingt juillet mil neuf cent soixante-
deux, en deux exemplaires, dont l'un restera déposéaux archives
de la Cour et dont l'autre sera transmis au Secrétaire général de
l'organisation des Nations Unies.

Le Président,
(Signé B. WINIARSKI.

Le Greffier,
(Signé GARNIER-COIGNET.

M. SPIROPOULOjS u,ge, fait.la déclaration suiva:te

Tout en acceptant la conclusion de la Cour, nous ne saurions
partager toutes les opinions émises dans l'avis consultatif. En
particulier, nous estimons que la réponse affirmative à la demande
d'avis se justifie par le raisonnement que les résolutions de l'Assem-
blée généralequi autorisent le financement des opérations des
Nations Unies au Congo et au Moyen-Orient, étantdesrésolutions

qui visent à couvrir les frais relatifs à la réalisation des buts des
Nations Unies et qui ont étéadoptées par les deux tiers des Mem-
bres présents et votants de l'Assembléegénérale, créentdes obliga-
tions pour les Membres des Nations Unies.
Nous n'exprimons aucune opinion quant à la conformité à la
Charte des résolutions concernant les opérations des Nations Unies
au Congo et au Moyen-Orient et cela pour' les raisons suivantes:
La délégation française avait proposé à l'Assembléegénérale
l'acceptation d'un amendement au texte finalement adopté par
elle, d'après lequel la question posée à la Cour devenait: ccLes

dépensesautorisées, etc., ont-elles étédécidéesconformément aux
dispositions de la Charte, et dans l'affirmative constituent-elles
((des dépenses de l'Organisation » au sens du paragraphe 2 de
l'article 17 de la Charte des Nations Unies?1)

Cet amendement fut accompagné le 20 décembre1961 au cours
de la séancede l'Assembléegénérale d'une déclarationde la déléga-

33 181 CERTAIN EXPENSES OF U.N. (OPINION OF 20 VI162)
French delegation justifying the submission of the French amend-

ment and which, among other things, said:
"In the opinion of the French delegation, the question put to
the Court does not enable the latter to give a clear-cut opinion on
the juridical basis for the financial obligations of Member States.
The Court cannot, in fact, appraise the scope of those resolutions
without determining what obligations they may create for Member
States under the Charter.
It is for this reason that the French delegation is submitting to
the Assembly an amendment [AIL. 3781 the adoption of which
would enable the Court to determine whether or not the Assembly
resolutions concerning the financial implications of the United
Nations operations in the Congo and the Middle East are in con-
formity with the Charter. Only thus, if the matter is referred to the
Court, will it be done in such a way as to take into account the
scope and nature of the problems raised in the proposal to request
an opinion."
The French amendment was rejected.
The rejection of the French amendment by the General Assembly
seems to me to show the desire of the Assembly that the conformity
or non-conformity of the decisions of the Assembly and of the
Security Council concerning the United Nations operations in the

Congo and the Middle East should not be examined by the Court.
It seems natural, indeed, that the General Assembly should not
have wished that the Court should pronounce on the validity of
resolutions which have been applied for several years. In these
circumstances, 1have felt bound to refrain from pronouncing on
the conformity with the Charter of the resolutions relating to the
United Nations operations in the Congo and the Middle East.

Judges Sir Percy SPENDERS , ir Gerald FITZMAURICa End MORELLI
append to the Opinion of the Court statements of their Separate
Opinions.

President WINIARSKIand Judges BASDEVANTM , ORENOQUIN-
TANAK , ORETSKYand BUSTAMANT E RIVEROappend to the Opin-
ion of the Court statements of their Dissenting Opinions.

(Initialled) B.W.
(Initialled) G.-C.tion française justifiant le dépôt de l'amendement français où il
était dit entre autres:
(De l'avis de la délégationfrançaise,la question posàela Cour
ne permet pas à celle-ci de se prononcer en toute clarté sur la
source juridique des obligations financières des Etats Membres.
La Cour, en effet, ne peut pas apprécierla portéede ces résolutions
sans déterminer quelles obligations celles-ci peuvent faire naître
pour les Etats Membres d'après la Charte.
C'est pour cette raison que la délégation françaisesoumet à
l'Assembléel'amendement contenu dans le document AIL. 378,
dont l'adoption permettraiàla Courde déterminersilesrésolutions
de l'Assembléeayant trait aux conséquencesfinancières des opé-
rations des Nations Unies au Congo et au Moyen-Orient sont ou
non conformes à la Charte. Ce n'est que dans ces conditions que si
la Cour devait êtresaisie, elle le serait d'une manière qui tienne
compte de l'étendue et de lanature des problèmesévoquésdans la
proposition de demande d'avis. ))

L'amendement français fut rejeté.
Le rejet de l'amendement français par l'Assembléegénéralenous
semble manifester le désir de l'Assemblée généraleque la confor-
mité ou non-conformité des décisions de l'Assemblée généraleet
du Conseil de Sécurité concernant les opérations de l'organisation
des Nations Unies au Congo et au Moyen-Orient ne soient
pas examinées par la Cour. En effet, il semble naturel que 1'Assem-
bléegénéralen'ait pas voulu que la Cour se prononce sur la validité

des résolutions qui ont été appliquées depuis plusieurs années.
Dans ces conditions, nous avons estimé devoir nous abstenir de
nous prononcer sur la conformité à la Charte des résolutions con-
cernant les opérations des Nations Unies au Congo et au Moyen-
Orient.

Sir Percy SPENDER,sir Gerald FITZMAURICE et M. MORELLI,
juges, joignent à l'avis de la Cour les exposés de leur opinion indi-
viduelle.

MM. WINIARSKI,Président, BASDEVANTM , ORENOQUINTANA,
KORETSKYet BUSTAMANTE Y RIVERO, juges, joignent à l'avis
de la Cour les exposés de leur opinion dissidente.

(Paraphé) B. W.
(Paraphé) G.-C.

Document file FR
Document Long Title

Declaration of Judge Spriopoulos (as appended immediately after the advisory opinion)

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