The Charter of the United Nations cannot be regarded as the constitution of the world.

Abstract

The impact of the United Nations on international politics, law, economics and society is beyond doubt. No other organisation can be said to operate on the same scale, nor with access to the same resources, given the plurality of the UN’s many operations across the globe.1 It is for these reasons that it might be tempting to regard the UN Charter as a global constitution: a guiding document by which international law operates. However as will be argued by this essay, it can be countered that for all its importance, it is more appropriate to characterise the Charter in alternative terms. The below discussion will be split into three main sections. Firstly, the concept of a ‘world constitution’ will be considered, since this will be the standard against which the UN Charter will be judged. Secondly, the aspects of the Charter which indicate its constitutional nature will be identified. Thirdly, the counter-arguments against the Charter being regarded as a constitutional document will be identified.