Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, General; the United Nations, Volume I

501.BC/3–2246: Telegram

The United States Representative at the United Nations (Stettinius) to the Secretary of State

[Extract]

New York, undated.
[Received March 22, 1946—9:16 p.m.]

Unnumbered, For Hiss⁸³ and Bancroft.⁸⁴ Following is text submitted by Soviet to Chairman of Committee of Experts⁸⁵ just prior to today’s meeting.

Text Translation Original Russian

Amendments to the redraft of the provisional rules of procedure for the Security Council proposed by the Soviet representative.⁸⁶

[Here follows section on the Soviet proposal for Rule 19 of the provisional rules of February 5.]

“Rule 31. Should the Security Council consider a dispute, provided for by Article 33⁸⁷ of the Charter, a party to the dispute shall abstain from voting in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 27⁸⁸ of the Charter.

Should the Security Council consider a situation provided for by Article 34⁸⁹ or any other dispute which does not fall under Article 33, all the members of the Security Council are entitled to participate in voting.

The decision of whether the question under consideration by the Security Council is of procedural nature and also of whether the question under consideration is a dispute or situation and whether this dispute is of the nature referred to in Article 33 of the Charter shall be regarded as accepted if it is voted for by seven members of the Security Council including the concurring votes of all the permanent members of the Security Council. [”]

[Here follows Soviet proposal for new Rules 32, 33, and 40.]

[Stettinius]

83. Alger Hiss, Director of the Office of Special Political Affairs in the Department of State. For documentation relating to the organization and arrangements effected for the conduct of United States relations with the United Nations, see pp. 1 ff.
84. Harding F. Bancroft of the Division of International Security Affairs. At this time the United States Delegation to the United Nations (hereafter referred to as the Permanent Delegation) was being organized in New York and Mr. Bancroft was about to be detailed there as an adviser on matters relating to the Security Council with specific reference to the work of the Committee of Experts.
85. The Committee of Experts was established by the Security Council on January 17 to draft permanent rules of procedure for that body. It was composed of a representative of each of the eleven members of the Security Council, and at this time the chairman of the committee was the Chinese delegate, Mr. Yuen-li-Liang.

86. The Soviet proposal, submitted by the Soviet delegate on the committee, Mr. Orekhov, was presented against this background: The Security Council at the time was operating under a set of temporary rules drafted by the Preparatory Commission of the United Nations (for documentation on the Preparatory Commission see Foreign Relations, 1945, vol. i, pp. 1433 ff.), Rule 19 of which dealt with the Council’s voting procedure in very general terms as follows: “Voting in the Security Council shall be in accordance with the relevant Articles of the Charter and of the Statute of the International Court of Justice.” In its initial stint at London (January 17–February 8) the Committee of Experts on February 5 turned out a provisional re-draft of the provisional rules of procedure, but the rule on voting, now Rule 30, remained the same (for this set of rules, under which the Security Council operated until April 9, see United Nations, Official Records of the Security Council, First Year, First Series, Supplement No. 2, pp. 1 ff., annex 1a; hereafter cited as SC, 1st yr., 1st series, Suppl. No. 2).

    At the last meeting in London on February 8 delegates of the Committee were asked to be prepared, upon the re-convening of the Committee in New York in March, to submit any new rules of procedure, or revision of rules then in use, in which they might be interested. When the Committee did reassemble in New York on March 20 it was presented with a memorandum dated March 18 from the Secretary-General of the United Nations entitled “Statement on the Rules of Procedure of the Security Council”. Among other things the Committee was invited by the Secretary-General to consider the importance of the distinction between “dispute” and “situation” with reference to the voting procedure of the Security Council under Article 27, in the light of the experience of the Security Council during the sessions in London in January and February. It was at this point that the Soviet proposal was presented. It may be noted parenthetically that in the Department of State meanwhile a rather general approach was being taken to the whole question of rules of procedure.

    The Soviet proposal was printed as Committee of Experts document S/Procedure/17, March 22, 1946 and the Secretary-General’s memorandum as document S/Procedure/12, March 18, 1946; the Secretariat memorandum is printed in SC, 1st yr., 1st series, Suppl. No. 2, pp. 8 ff., annex 1b.

    The Russians submitted four proposed rules of procedure, both amendments to existing (provisional) rules and wholly new rules. Only the rule relating to voting under Article 27 (proposed Rule 31) is considered here.

87. Article 33 states: “1. The parties to any dispute, the continuance of which is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security, shall, first of all, seek a solution by negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own choice. 2. The Security Council shall, when it deems necessary, call upon the parties to settle their dispute by such means.”
88. Article 27 reads: “1. Each member of the Security Council shall have one vote. 2. Decisions of the Security Council on procedural matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of seven members. 3. Decisions of the Security Council on all other matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of seven members including the concurring votes of the permanent members; provided that, in decisions under Chapter VI, and under paragraph 3 of Article 52, a party to a dispute shall abstain from voting.”
89. Article 34 reads: “The Security Council may investigate any dispute, or any situation which might lead to international friction or give rise to a dispute, in order to determine whether the continuance of the dispute or situation is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security.”