Abstract
The United Nations (UN) was founded in 1946 in response to a perceived necessity for the organization to have legal status under the national legislations of its Member States in order to effectively handle the Member States’ practical domestic concerns. Thus, according to article 104 off the UN Charter, ‘the Organization shall enjoy in the territory of each of its Members such legal capacity as may be necessary for the exercise of its functions and the fulfilment of its purposes.’ A similar approach was adopted to accord the UN with some privileges and immunities to the extent that article 105 of the Charter of the UN provides that ‘the Organization shall enjoy in the territory of each of its Members such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the fulfilment of its purposes.’ As a result, the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, sometimes known as the ‘General Convention,’ was negotiated and enacted shortly after the United Nations was established. The General Convention was adopted by the General Assembly at its first session on 13 February 1946 (resolution 22 A (I)) based on a draft of the United Nations Preparatory Commission. It entered into force on 17 September 1946 and was registered with the Secretary-General on 14 December 1946. It was one of the first treaties to be published in the United Nations Treaty Series. Thus, this article analyses the provisions of the General Convention with the aim of determining the practicality of the provisions to the effectiveness of the UN as a body in carrying out its mandate.