United Nations Office of Legal Affairs
Abbreviation | OLA |
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Formation | 13 February 1946; 78 years ago (1946-02-13) |
Type | Secretariat office |
Legal status | Active |
Headquarters | New York, United States |
Head | Under-Secretary-General Miguel de Serpa Soares |
Parent organization | United Nations Secretariat |
Website | legal.un.org |
Politics portal |
The United Nations Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) is a United Nations office currently administered by Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel of the United Nations Miguel de Serpa Soares.
History
Established in 1946, the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs provides a unified central legal service for the Secretariat and the principal and other organs of the United Nations and contributes to the progressive development and codification of international public and trade law. Pursuant to Article 102 of the UN Charter, OLA registers, publishes, and serves as a depository of international treaties. The office also functions to promote the strengthening and development as well as the effective implementation of the international legal order for the seas and oceans.[1]
Units
The Office consists of six divisions:
- Office of the Legal Counsel (OLC)
- General Legal Division (GLD)
- Codification Division (COD)
- Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS)
- International Trade Law Division (ITLD)
- Treaty Section (TREATY).
Treaties
The Office of Legal Affairs, through its Treaty Section, discharges the depositary functions of the Secretary-General under more than 560 multilateral treaties, including the custody of originals and the receipt of signatures and instruments of ratification, accession, etc. The Office is also responsible for the registration and publication of treaties and international agreements under Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.[2]
After their adoption, Treaties as well as their amendments have to follow the official legal procedures of the United Nations, as applied by the Office of Legal Affairs, including signature, ratification and entry into force.
See also
- United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee (Legal)
- International conventions on terrorism and counter-terrorism (Anti-terrorism legislation)
- International Law Commission (ILC)
- United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)
References
- Hans Corell: United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, in: Karel Wellens (ed.): International Law: Theory and Practice. Essays in Honour of Eric Suy, The Hague/Boston/London: Martinus Nijhoff 1998, pp. 305–322.
External links
- UN Office of Legal Affairs (OLA)
- International Law - Action Plan
- Treaty Section (OLA)
- United Nations Rule of Law: The Office of Legal Affairs, on the rule of law work conducted by the Office of Legal Affairs.
- The United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
- v
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- Secretary-General: António Guterres
- Deputy Secretary-General: Amina J. Mohammed
- General Assembly President: Dennis Francis
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Activities |
- Secretary-General
- International Court of Justice
- General Assembly President (2016)
- Security Council (2016)
- Bretton Woods system
- CCISUA
- Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
- Criticism
- Delivering as One
- Drug control treaties
- Expulsion from the United Nations
- FICSA
- Flag
- Four Nations Initiative
- Genocide Convention
- UN Global Compact
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
- International Criminal Court
- International Narcotics Control Board
- International Day of Peace
- International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World
- International Years
- Interpreters
- UN laissez-passer
- Military Staff Committee
- Official languages
- Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
- Peacekeeping
- Ralph Bunche Park
- SDG Publishers Compact
- Sustainable Development Goals
- United Nations Postal Administration
- UN Block By Block
- Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice
- Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Mandela Rules)
- Treaty Series
- Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
- Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
- UN Advisory Committee of Local Authorities
- UN Day
- Millennium Declaration
- Security Council veto power
- UN reform
- UN Art Collection
- UN Federal Credit Union
- UN International School
- UN Mandate
- UN Memorial Cemetery Korea
- UN Sacco
- University for Peace
- Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action
- Woodrow Wilson Memorial
- World Federation of United Nations Associations
- Biopiracy treaty