Non Permanent Members Of The Council example essay topic

686 words
In 1920, the League of Nations had 48 members and in 1929, it had 54. The League itself consisted of the Assembly, the Council, and the Secretariat. It also consisted of the Permanent Court of Justice, the Agencies, and The International Labor Organization. The Permanent Court of International Justice and the International Labor Organization were independent of the league, but coordinated their actions with it. This peacekeeping system was designed with the idea that member states would accept the legal settlement of their disputes and that those who failed to do so would suffer the sanctions levied by the rest of the league community.

The Council consisted of six permanent members -- the six Great Powers (Britain, France, Italy, Russia, Japan and Germany) -- and some temporary elected members. The Council was like the Executive Body; it supervised the general workings of the League, and convened both regular and special sessions of the Assembly. It could organize sanctions against an offending state, and all its decisions had to be unanimous. The Assembly was like a Parliament or Legislature but it had no real power. The Assembly was used as a worldwide conference meeting to discuss any and all questions of international relations such as the arbitration of peace treaties, the problem of frontier adjustments, and any dispute that might endanger international peace. It met once a year, and each member state had one vote in the Assembly.

It admitted new nations and controlled the budget, and it elected non-permanent members of the council. Although the Assembly decisions were technically required to be unanimous, it became customary for those who disagreed with the proposals of the majority to simply abstain from voting. Actual cases of veto or deadlock were very few; but as a result of this requirement, most resolutions passed by the Assembly tended toward compromise or delay rather than clear-cut decisions. The Secretariat was a kind of Civil Service. It consisted of permanent officials paid by the League. The Secretariat carried out all administrative functions.

It also prepared reports for the Council and Assembly. It was divided into sections, like finance, drugs, health, and disarmament. The Secretariat first Secretary-General, Sir Eric Drummond, aimed to develop a body of international civil servants loyal to the League of Nations. It was based at the League's headquarters in Geneva.

The Permanent Court of Justice could be access to non-members. It consisted of 15 judges, elected by the Assembly, representing the world's different legal systems. The court gave decisions on cases referred to it by countries by dispute. It advised the Assembly and Council if asked. The PCI is still based in The Hague, Holland. The International Labor Organization could also be access to non-members.

This Organization encouraged many countries to improve their ordinary workers' rights. It is still in existence today. It was an association of all League members and it aimed to improve working conditions worldwide. It's ruling body consisted of representatives of governments, employers and workers. Commissions and Special Committees were set up to carry out much of the League's work. The main Commissions were the disarmament, this Commission was meant to persuade member states to reduce armed forces and weapon stocks.

Mandates: a Mandate Commission was set up to supervise the transferring of land from Germany and Turkey, to the winning powers. Refugees: this Commission tried to repatriate prisoners of war after the First World War and find homes for refugees, which it did, many hundreds of thousands of people and prisoners of war. Drugs, to stop the smuggling and misuse of dangerous drugs. This caused many states to improve controls, but it could not defeat determined drugs producers. Health, this Organization worked particularly in poorer countries, and managed to reduce many cases of leprosy. Other one includes military, naval and air, communications and transit, protection of women and children, economics and finance, slavery, and international cooperation.