The Charter of the United Nations: A Commentary

Since the third edition of this commentary on the Charter of the United Nations was published in 2012, the text of the Charter has not changed DL but the world has. Central pillars of the international order enshrined in the UN Charter are facing serious challenges, notably the prohibition of the use of force. Human rights, too, have come under increasing pressure, now also from contemporary information technology. Global warming poses fundamental challenges for the world community as a whole in its effort to stabilize global ecosystems. Fully updated, the commentary takes up these and other developments. It features new chapters on Climate Change and the Human Rights Council. The commentary remains the authoritative, article-by-article account of the legislative history, interpretation, and practical application of each and every Charter provision. Written by a team of distinguished scholars and practitioners, this book combines academic research with the insights of practice. It is an indispensable tool of reference for all those interested in the United Nations and its legal significance for the world community. The Commentary will be crucial in combining solid legal foundations with new directions for the development of international law and the United Nations in the twenty-first century

Table of Contents:
1: Daniel-Erasmus Khan: Drafting History 2: Thilo Rensmann: Reform 3: Stefan Kadelbach: Interpretation of the Charter 4: Daniel-Erasmus Khan: Preamble 5: Thomas Kleinlein: Art. 1 6: Andreas Paulus: Article 2 7: Bardo Fassbender: Art. 2 (1) 8: Robert Kolb: Art. 2 (2) 9: Christian Tomuschat: Art. 2 (3) 10: Christian Tams: Art. 2 (4) 11: Helmut Philipp Aust: Art. 2 (5) 12: Stefan Talmon: Art. 2 (6) 13: Georg Nolte: Art 2. (7) 14: Stefan Oeter: Self-Determination 15: Ulrich Fastenrath and Donald Riznik: Art. 3 16: Ulrich Fastenrath and Donald Riznik: Art. 4 17: Christian Tams: Art. 5 18: Christian Tams: Art. 6 19: Matthias Lippold: Art. 7 20: Monika Polzin: Art. 8 21: Siegried Magiera: Art. 9 22: Stefanie Schmahl: Art. 10 23: Stefanie Schmahl: Art. 11 24: Stefanie Schmahl: Art. 12 25: Johannes Tropper and August Reinisch: Art. 13 26: Pierre Thielbörger: Art. 14 27: Philip Bittner and Helmut Tichy: Art. 15 28: Matthias Goldmann: Art. 16 29: Hans-Christian Mangelsdorf: Art. 17 30: Silja Vöneky: Art. 18 31: Mehrdad Payandeh: Art. 19 32: Christophe Eick: Art. 20 33: Tomoko Iwata and Keiichiro Okimoto: Art. 21 34: Daniel-Erasmus Khan and Lando Kirchmair: Art. 22 35: Andreas von Arnauld: Art. 23 36: Anne Peters: Art. 24 37: Anne Peters: Art. 25 38: Nikolaus Koch and Hans-Joachim Schuetz: Art. 26 39: Andreas Zimmermann: Art. 27 40: Konrad Buehler: Art. 28 41: Matthias Lippold and Andreas Paulus: Art. 29 42: Alejandro Rodiles: Art. 30 43: Charlotte Kreuter-Kirchhof: Art. 31 44: Charlotte Kreuter-Kirchhof: Art. 32 45: Christian Tomuschat: Art. 33 46: Kirsten Schmalenbach: Art. 34 47: Kirsten Schmalenbach: Art. 35 48: Thomas Giegerich: Art. 36 49: Thomas Giegerich: Art. 37 50: Thomas Giegerich: Art. 38 51: Michael Bothe: Peacekeeping 52: Mindiia Vashakmadze: Responsibility to Protect 53: Erika de Wet: Introduction to Chapter VII 54: Erika de Wet: Art. 39 55: Erika de Wet: Art. 40 56: Erika de Wet: Art. 41 57: Erika de Wet: Art. 42 58: Erika de Wet: Art. 43 59: August Reinish and Gregor Novak: Art 44 60: August Reinish and Gregor Novak: Art. 45 61: August Reinish and Gregor Novak: Art. 46 62: August Reinish and Gregor Novak: Art. 47 63: August Reinish and Gregor Novak: Art. 48 64: August Reinish and Gregor Novak: Art. 49 65: August Reinish and Gregor Novak: Art. 50 66: Helmut Philipp Aust: Art. 51 67: Christian Walter: Introduction to Chapter VIII 68: Christian Walter: Art. 52 69: Christian Walter: Art. 53 (without Enemy State Clause) 70: Irene Couzigou: Art. 53 (Enemy State Clause) 71: Christian Walter: Art. 54 72: Tobias Stoll: Art. 55 (a) and (b) 73: Eva Frenz and Dirk Hanschel: Art. 55 (c) (without HR Council) 74: Angelika Nussberger and Julia Miklasová: Human Rights Council 75: Lavanya Rajamani: Climate Change 76: Tobias Stoll: Art. 56 77: Michael Waibel: Art. 57 78: Michael Waibel and Nicola Nesi: Art. 58 79: Michael Waibel and Nicola Nesi: Art. 59 80: Michael Waibel and Nicola Nesi: Art. 60 81: Volker Röben: Art. 61 82: Volker Röben: Art. 62 83: Markus Krajewski and Shuvra Dey: Art. 63 84: Romy Klimke and Christian Tietje: Art. 64 85: Romy Klimke and Christian Tietje: Art. 65 86: Romy Klimke and Christian Tietje: Art. 66 87: Volker Röben: Art. 67 88: Christina Binder and Jane Hofbauer: Art. 68 89: Eleni Chaitidou and Oliver Landwehr: Art. 69 90: Eleni Chaitidou and Oliver Landwehr: Art. 70 91: Stephan Hobe: Art. 71 92: Tomoko Iwata and Keiichiro Okimoto: Art. 72 93: Ulrich Fastenrath: Art. 73 94: Ulrich Fastenrath: Art. 74 95: Matthias Goldmann: Art. 75 96: Matthias Goldmann: Art. 76 97: Matthias Goldmann: Art. 77 98: Matthias Goldmann: Art. 78 99: Matthias Goldmann: Art. 79 100: Matthias Goldmann: Art. 80 101: Matthias Goldmann: Art. 81 102: Matthias Goldmann: Art. 82 103: Matthias Goldmann: Art. 83 104: Matthias Goldmann: Art. 84 105: Matthias Goldmann: Art. 85 106: Matthias Goldmann: Art. 86 107: Matthias Goldmann: Art. 87 108: Matthias Goldmann: Art. 88 109: Matthias Goldmann: Art. 89 110: Matthias Goldmann: Art. 90 111: Matthias Goldmann: Art. 91 112: Pierre D'Argent: Art. 92 113: Pierre D'Argent: Art. 93 114: Pierre D'Argent: Art. 94 115: Dirk Pulkowski: Art. 95 116: Evelyne Lagrange: Art. 96 117: Simon Chesterman: Art. 97 118: Simon Chesterman: Art. 98 119: Simon Chesterman: Art. 99 120: Christian Ebner and Alexander Marschik: Art. 100 121: Christian Rhode: Art. 101 122: Ernst Martens: Art. 102 123: Johann Ruben Leiss and Andreas Paulus: Art. 103 124: Andreas R. Ziegler: Art. 104 125: Andreas R. Ziegler: Art. 105 126: Irene Couzigou: Art. 106 127: Irene Couzigou: Art. 107 128: Silja Vöneky: Art. 108 129: Silja Vöneky: Art. 109 130: Christoph Vedder: Art. 110 131: Markus Kotzur: Art. 111

About the Author :
Bruno Simma is a Judge at the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague. He was formerly Judge at the International Court of Justice (2003-2012) and Professor of International Law and European Community Law and Director of the Institute of International Law at the University of Munich and Professor of Law at the University of Michigan. Daniel-Erasmus Khan is Professor of Public Law, European Law, and International Law at the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich. Georg Nolte is a Judge at the International Court of Justice, The Hague. From 2008 to 2021 he taught as Professor of Public Law and International Law at Humboldt University Berlin Andreas Paulus is Professor of Public and International Law at the University of Goettingen. From 2010 to 2022, he was serving as Justice of Germany's Federal Constitutional Court.

Review :
Review from previous edition The project Simma has put together is excellent and will be very useful ... Simma has gathered virtually all of the leading experts and ... this will be a definitive work. The book may be recommended as an important source of information on the interpretation and application of the UN Charter over years. Simma and his colleagues should be praised for their coherent presentation of the Commentary. This massive volume will be familiar to some readers in its earlier German version, first published in 1991. It now appears in an excellent English translation which does full justice to the quality of the scholarship of some 60 German-speaking international lawyers...a book whose encyclopaedic quality will make it a standard reference work on what remains for international lawyers probably the most important treaty of the twentieth century...a series of essays that are informative and authoritative and often range well beyond the confines of the Charter itself...the whole work has clearly benefited from very high editorial standards. It deserves a wide readership and will prove an essential text for any international law library. ...remarkably accessible. The reader is guided through the legislative history, general meaning and specific problems. This combination of detail and clarity combine to produce an invaluable work of reference for practitioners and a fascinating study for any academic.