In 1952 the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace initiated a series of national studies on international organization which were to be carried out by private groups and individuals in more than twenty countries. They were to provide an appraisal of the national experience of these countries in international organizations, especially the United Nations, ten years after the San Francisco conference. Fourteen volumes in the series have now been published. Three more will be published soon, including the two final volumes which summarize and discuss the conclusions of the individual studies. These two works have been written, respectively, by Maurice Bourquin, Professor of International Public Law at the University of Geneva, and by Robert MacIver, Lieber Professor Emeritus of Political Philosophy and Sociology at Columbia University. Other national studies have been completed and were available to Professors Bourquin and MacIver, but they have not been published yet; this reviewer has not seen them and will therefore limit his own remarks to the reports which have been or are soon to be published. I will examine first the questions which the national studies were supposed to answer and the way in which the various authors have tried to answer them; then I will present some general comments about the national attitudes toward international organization, as they emerge from the series; finally I will discuss the role of the UN in present world politics, as it can be interpreted on the basis of the national reports.

There is an old adage that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. It is certain that the beauty, the utility, and the significance of the Commonwealth association appear very differently to its various members. This was true of the pre-war Commonwealth: between the end of the first world war and the beginning of the second there were marked differences of attitude among the members. The central problem was seen as the definition of the relationship between the United Kingdom and what were then described as the self-governing dominions. To South Africa, the Irish Free State, and Canada—in varying degrees—it was important that the relationship should be spelled out in terms which assured, so far as was possible through the medium of statute and the articulation of conventional rules, a status of equality between the United Kingdom and the dominions. To Australia and New Zealand the attempt at such a definition appeared undesirable; quieta non movere seemed to them the counsel of wisdom.

The Uniting for Peace Resolution—or the Acheson Plan, as it was once popularly called—was adopted by the UN General Assembly on November 3, 1950. It is commonly conceded that its procedures were designed to help surmount an apparently major obstacle to the operation of the UN: the Soviet veto or its alleged abuse, and the concomitant stagnation of the Security Council. Its particulars were the product, at least in part, of both the accidents and the demands of the Korean War—for example, that the Security Council could and did adopt resolutions of substance pertaining to Korea up until the time (August 1, 1950) the Soviet delegate returned, after which it adopted no other; or that there was a UN commission already stationed in Korea which could and did report to the Security Council immediately upon the outbreak of hostilities in June of 1950. The resolution belonged to a longer evolutionary history, too: the general shift in emphasis away from the Security Council was manifested even before the Korean War by the creation in 1947 of an “Interim Committee” of the General Assembly. The Uniting for Peace Resolution was more or less a reflection of the immediate environment of the Korean crisis, but it was also part of the main stream of basic institutional change to which it at the same time contributed.

The English parliamentary system emerged from the dramatic struggle between the English Parliament and the Crown over the principle of political or “democratic” control. For leaders of the Commons such as Edward Coke a single false step beyond the line of the sovereign's endurance meant the Tower of London. Another struggle in a different key and on a different level has begun with little publicity on the Continent. The European Parliamentary Assembly in the newly established European Communities is seeking to assert some degree of control and influence not only over the mushrooming Commissions, but also over the powerful Councils of Ministers. Obviously, there is no danger of an irate Council of Ministers confining the obstreperous parliamentarians to the dungeons of Strasbourg. Moreover, the European Parliamentary Assembly is far from being a parliament. Members of the Community “executive” such as Jean Monnet have encouraged rather than fought the Assembly. In these as in other respects the analogy with the development of the English parliamentary system must not be pressed too far. But the broad contours of the contest, the pressures and counter-pressures, the use and abuse of legal argument, and the reliance on genuine and fabricated precedent offer an interesting study in the development of a parliamentary body.

In their first full year of operation, the United Nations and the specialized agencies spent under $25 million; ten years later, in 1956, their total regular budgets were almost $85 million. In that same year the Suez crisis led to the creation of the Emergency Force and the clearing of the Canal, adding about $25 million to the 1957–1958 expenditures. During the past three years 22 governments joined the Organization, adding much to its operating costs but little to its coffers. With the Middle East still in turmoil, and social upheaval dominating world politics, there is increasing agitation for both a permanent UN Force and a drastically expanded economic assistance program. As the Organization seeks to grapple with an ever-mounting range of responsibilities, with the consequent shift from reliance on voluntary programs to regular budgetary outlays, it is quite likely that the estimated expenditures of over $98 million for the Organization and the agencies in 1958 will be doubled within the next five years.

In accordance with a decision taken at the first part of its thirteenth session, the General Assembly reconvened on February 20, 1959, to consider exclusively the question of the future of the trust territories of the Cameroons under French administration and the Cameroons under United Kingdom administration. The Assembly referred the question to its Trusteeship (fourth) Committee which discussed the matter from its 844th meeting on February 25 to its 880th meeting on March 18. The Trusteeship Council had submitted a special report to the General Assembly concerning the future of these trust territories. The Council had also transmitted to the Assembly the reports of the UN visiting mission to trust territories in West Africa, 1958, and the observations of the administering authorities on the reports.

The resumed 26th session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) was held in New York on October 23 and December 10 and 11, 1958, under the presidency of Mr. Davidson (Canada). A draft resolution by which ECOSOC would decide to enable the International Atomic Energy Agency to become a member of the Technical Assistance Board and to participate in the Expanded Program of Technical Assistance was adopted unanimously at the 1045th meeting. The Council elected the members of the Governing Council of the Special Fund: elected as members representing the economically more advanced countries were Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States; and representing the less-developed countries were Argentina, Chile, Ghana, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, the United Arab Republic, and Yugoslavia. Brazil was elected as a member of the Technical Assistance Committee to fill the vacancy resulting from the election of Venezuela to ECOSOC. At its 1046th meeting the Council elected the following seven members of the Council Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations for 1959: China, Costa Rica, France, the Netherlands, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Council unanimously confirmed the names of persons nominated by governments to represent them on the functional commissions of ECOSOC. The delegate of France announced that his country had been unable to take advantage of the extended time-limit for the submission of lists of the territories it wished to be admitted as associate members of the Economic Commission for Africa. The Council unanimously adopted a resolution designed to make the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Specialized Agencies applicable to the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization.

The Trusteeship Council held its eighth special session from October 13 to October 17, 1958, at UN Headquarters in New York. Following the adoption of its agenda, the Council decided to examine simultaneously the two major items before it, the future of Togoland under French administration and the examination of the annual report of the French government on Togoland for the year 1956. The Council also had before it the observations of the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on the territory. At the Council's 937th meeting, Mr. Dorsinville, the commissioner for the supervision of elections in the territory, presented his report on the elections which had been held on April 28, 1958, which he had drawn up in accordance with a resolution adopted at the twelfth session of the General Assembly. Mr. Dorsinville drew the attention of the Council to the fact that the election results had been contested in six electoral circonscriptions, but that the appeals concerning the results had been rejected by the administrative tribunal. The composition of the Chamber of Deputies was, therefore, the same as that announced by the Election Returns Board, as given in Mr. Dorsinville's report. The commissioner re-affirmed the conviction expressed in his report that the results of the elections reflected the wishes of the people of Togoland. He pointed out that by the election of April 1958 the unanimity of the government of Togoland had ended, so that the present government was composed of a majority of a little more than two-thirds of the members of the new Assembly. The change in public opinion in Togoland seemed to explain the election results, in Mr. Dorsinville's view; the UN mission, he stated, had helped to create the circumstances favorable to the free expression of the people's will. Mr. Dorsinville also noted that the conversations between the French government and a Togolese delegation which had resulted in a communique were an indication of the good relations to be promoted between Togoland and France.

Case concerning the “Compagnie du Port, des Quais et des Entrepôts de Beyrouth” and the “Société Radio-Orient” (France v. Lebanon): On February 13, 1959, an application instituting proceedings before the Courtagainst Lebanon was filed by France. The application noted that in accordance with the terms of their constitutional instruments, the Compagnie du Port, des Quais et des Entrepôts de Beyrouth and the Société Radio-Orient enjoyed certain customs and tax exemptions in Lebanon during the life of their concessions. The Lebanese government, it continued, having, on July 26, 1956, enacted a law providing for the imposition of income tax and other fiscal and municipal taxes on all companies enjoying an exemption under agreements ratified by special legislation, the French government considered that this constituted a unilateral alteration of the position of the companies concerned, which was contrary to the Agreement of January 24, 1948, between France and Lebanon.

The thirteenth annual report of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, covering the fiscal year July 1, 1957, to June 30, 1958, was presented to the Board of Governors on October 6, 1958. Noting that the operations of the Bank in the past year were larger and more wide-ranging than in any previous year, the report stated that 34 loans totaling the equivalent of $711 million had been made during the twelve months ended June 30, 1958. This compared with 20 loans totaling $388 million in the previous year. More than half the year's lending was in Asia, amounting to $379 million, while the balance was made up of $121 million for Latin America, $112 million for Africa, and $99 million for Europe. Of the total of $322 million lent for improvements in transportation, two-thirds was for the improvement and expansion of rail services in seven member countries. The $242 million lent in regard to electric power was for the expansion of generation, transmission, and distribution systems in nine countries. Loans made for industry totaled $107 million and were largely concerned with expansion programs in steel and coal.

The Annual Report of the Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund for the fiscal year ended April 30, 1958, was transmitted to the Chairman of the Board of Governors on July 25, 1958. In its discussion of the economic climate of 1957–1958, the report noted that at the beginning of 1957, the world economy was still dominated by boom conditions generated by an intense world-wide wave of private and public investment which was reflected in a large demand for capital. Most of the payments problems that called for treatment during the first three-quarters of the year had their origin in the inflationary methods which were often used to satisfy this demand, and there was a dearth of loanable funds and a growing tension in the money markets. The financial problems that presented themselves in this situation were greatly intensified early in 1957 by the temporary effects of the tensions that arose in connection with the Suez events and, later in the year, by speculative movements against certain European currencies.

The Administrative Telegraph and Telephone Conference of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) was held in Geneva, September 29–November 29, 1958, to revise the regulations in telephony and telegraphy adopted in Paris in 1949. By a large majority the Conference adopted the principle that the Telephone Regulations should be world-wide in scope. The Telegraph Regulations, however, were still to include provisions applicable only to Europe, with reference to rates in the European system, the phototelegraph service, and different rebates for press telegrams. The three resolutions concerning telegraphy which the Conference decided to include in the regulations which it adopted instructed the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (CCITT) to study the possibility: 1) of making the provisions relative to the phototelegraph service world-wide in scope; 2) of modifying international alphabet No. 2 so that at least two additional signals from the figure case would be available to administrations or recognized private operating agencies for the needs of their internal services; and 3) of removing difficulties which still existed for the operational services and for the users in the counting of words. The Conference also made certain detailed changes in the Telegraph Regulations.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) held its tenth General Conference in Paris from November 4 through December 5, 1958, under the presidency of Mr. Jean Berthoin (France). The General Conference recognized as valid the credentials of the delegations of 78 member states, the delegations of 4 associate members, and observers from 2 non-member states. The Conference had before it the report of the Director-General, covering the activities of the organization during 1957 and through September 1958, and the proposed program and budget for 1959–1960. The Director General summed up the activities of UNESCO in 1957–1958 by stating that these years had been marked by the launching of three Major Projects, by the coordinated expansion of the Expanded Program of Technical Assistance and of the program of participation in the activities of member states, by world-wide interest in certain particular achievements in the ordinary program, by a greater degree of concerted action within the UN system, and by the inauguration of UNESCO's definitive head-quarters in Paris on November 3, 1958.

The Executive and Liaison Committee of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) met at Berne from May 5 to 16, 1958. After the rules of procedure for the work and deliberations of the Committee had been discussed and approved, the Committee considered the tasks which had been entrusted to it by the UPU Congress. These tasks had been classified into two groups. The first group included the study of various proposals, the solutions of which might be sought by the International Bureau. The second group comprised ten problems, among which were the following: perusal of the examination of the Universal Postal Convention's general structure; determination of the methods to be followed in order to execute the accepted principle of the incorporation of the air mail provisions into the Convention in the form of a special chapter; continuation of work on the multilingual vocabulary for the international postal service; and continuation of work on universal decimal classification. The Committee decided to entrust each one of these tasks to a separate subcommittee. Thus it reconstituted the three subcommittees (air mail, multilingual vocabulary, decimal classification) which had already worked under the former Executive Committee and set up seven new subcommittees. The air mail subcommittee proposed that the Executive Committee should take action regarding an International Civil Aviation Organization request for the collaboration of UPU in the collection of the information necessary for the study which it intended to undertake concerning commercial rights in the transport of international air mail.

The tenth session of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Executive Committee was held in Geneva from April 29 to May 17, 1958. The Committee considered the recommendations arising from the second session of the Commission for Bibliography and Publications; the comments received on the draft International Meteorological Vocabulary were noted. The recommendations resulting from the second session of the Commission for Synoptic Meteorology, which dealt with international meteorological codes, were approved and incorporated in a single Executive Committee resolution. The Committee also considered the decisions taken at the second session of Regional Association V (South-West Pacific). The new president of this association announced that it was proposed to set up a tropical analysis center in Australia and this development was welcomed by the Committee.

The Council of the ANZUS Pacific Security Pact met in Washington on October 2, 1958. It was reported that the major emphasis during the meeting was given to the situation existing in the Formosa Straits. Thus in a statement issued following the meeting, the three member governments, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, called on the Chinese communists to discontinue their attacks on Quemoy and Matsu as a first step to a peaceful settlement. According to the press, the statement also expressed the principle that armed force should not be used to achieve territorial ambitions, and indicated agreement among the participants that militant and subversive communist expansionism remained the greatest threat to the peaceful progress of the free world. The member governments of ANZUS were represented as follows: for the United States, Mr. Dulles (Secretary of State), for Australia, Mr. Casey (Minister for External Affairs), and for New Zealand, Mr. Nash (Prime Minister and Minister for External Affairs).

The Council of the Arab League opened its 30th session in Cairo on October 1, 1958, and adjourned on October 18. At its first meeting, the Council accepted membership applications from Morocco and Tunisia, bringing the number of member states of the League to ten. It was reported that on October 11 the Tunisian representative, Mr. Habib el-Shatti, charged that some Arab countries were seeking to dominate proceedings and that the Arab League was working for only one faction and receiving orders from one member. The chief delegate of the United Arab Republic then withdrew from the meeting with the rest of his delegation. Later, it was reported, the Tunisian representative announced that his delegation was withdrawing from the League's session because, in his words, no worthwhile work could be accomplished within the League as long as there was no faith between Tunisia and the United Arab Republic. The United Arab Republic delegation returned to the Council meeting on October 14 after the Tunisian delegate's remarks concerning the domination of the League's activities by certain states had been expunged from the records. It was recorded that on October 18 the Council agreed to assess the members of the League £12 million Egyptian ($34,400,000 at the official rate of exchange) for support of the revolt in Algeria. This sum was to be part of the League's budget and so was binding on all members.

The sixth session of the Council of the Baghdad Pact, meeting on the ministerial level, was held in Karachi January 26–28, 1959. In its communique issued following the meeting the Council reaffirmed the value of the pact for defensive military cooperation as well as economic and technical cooperation in raising living standards. The statement said that the greater part of the meeting had been devoted to a frank exchange of views on the international situation. The Council agreed that more use should be made of regular meetings of the Council of Deputies at the headquarters of the pact for the sake of political solidarity. The offer of the United Kingdom government to equip a new nuclear center for training in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy was welcomed by the Council; it was decided that the center should be located in Teheran. As pointed out by one source, no reference was made in the communique either to the situation in Iraq or to Iraq's association with the pact.

The 26th meeting of the Caribbean Commission was held in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, May 28 to June 2, 1958. Speakers at the meeting extended congratulations and best wishes to the new Federation of The West Indies. The Commission decided to invite its member governments to establish an ad hoc committee to make preparations for a full-scale Conference to Revise the Agreement Establishing the Commission. The contemplated revision was intended to improve the Commission and to make it more efficient as an instrument of regional cooperation. The provisional agenda for this ad hoc committee, accepted by the Commission, read as follows: 1) problems relating to the functions, structure, and working methods of a successor organization for the Caribbean Commission; 2) preliminary draft of such agreement setting up such a successor organization; 3) budget estimates and apportionment of budget; 4) rules of procedure for the Revision Conference; and 5) report and findings. A suggestion was made during the meeting that financial assistance should be afforded delegates from smaller territories to permit attendance at conferences or seminars sponsored by the Commission, when necessary.

By the Rome treaties of March 25, 1957, which established the European Economic Community (EEC or common market) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), five major institutions were created to serve the Communities. Three of these organs, the Assembly, the Court of Justice, and the Economic and Social Committee, were to be the same for both Communities, under the conditions respectively laid down in the two treaties, while the other two institutions, the Council and the Commission, were to remain separate. According to the Convention which dealt with the institutions common to the Communities, the Assembly was to replace the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), and the Court of Justice was to replace the Court provided for in the treaty establishing ECSC. The Economic and Social Committee was to serve only EEC and Euratom since ECSC was already served by a comparable body, the Consultative Committee.