United Nations Office of Legal Affairs

United Nations Office of Legal Affairs


Abbreviation	OLA
Formation	13 February 1946; 78 years ago (1946-02-13)
Type	Secretariat office
Legal status	Active
Headquarters	New York, United States
Head	Under-Secretary-General Miguel de Serpa Soares
Parent organization	United Nations Secretariat
Website	legal.un.org
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The United Nations Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) is a United Nations office currently administered by Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel of the United Nations Miguel de Serpa Soares.

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History

Established in 1946, the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs provides a unified central legal service for the Secretariat and the principal and other organs of the United Nations and contributes to the progressive development and codification of international public and trade law. Pursuant to Article 102 of the UN Charter, OLA registers, publishes, and serves as a depository of international treaties. The office also functions to promote the strengthening and development as well as the effective implementation of the international legal order for the seas and oceans.[1]

Units

The Office consists of six divisions:

Office of the Legal Counsel (OLC)
General Legal Division (GLD)
Codification Division (COD)
Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS)
International Trade Law Division (ITLD)
Treaty Section (TREATY).

Treaties

The Office of Legal Affairs, through its Treaty Section, discharges the depositary functions of the Secretary-General under more than 560 multilateral treaties, including the custody of originals and the receipt of signatures and instruments of ratification, accession, etc. The Office is also responsible for the registration and publication of treaties and international agreements under Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.[2]

After their adoption, Treaties as well as their amendments have to follow the official legal procedures of the United Nations, as applied by the Office of Legal Affairs, including signature, ratification and entry into force.

References

Hans Corell: United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, in: Karel Wellens (ed.): International Law: Theory and Practice. Essays in Honour of Eric Suy, The Hague/Boston/London: Martinus Nijhoff 1998, pp. 305–322.

External links

UN Office of Legal Affairs (OLA)
- International Law - Action Plan
Treaty Section (OLA)
United Nations Rule of Law: The Office of Legal Affairs, on the rule of law work conducted by the Office of Legal Affairs.
The United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law

United Nations

UN System

Charter	Preamble
Principal organs	Secretariat Secretary-General (selections) Deputy Secretary-General Under-Secretary-General General Assembly President International Court of Justice Statute Security Council Elections Members President Economic and Social Council President Trusteeship Council
Funds, programmes, and other bodies	Culture of Peace ITC IPCC IAEA MINURSO UNAIDS SCSL UNCTAD UNCITRAL UNCDF UNDGC UNDP UNDPO peacekeeping UNEP OzonAction UNEP/GRID-Arendal UNEP-WCMC UNFPA UN-HABITAT OHCHR UNHCR UNHRC UNICEF UNICRI UNIDIR UNITAR UN-Oceans UNODC UNOPS UNOSAT UNRISD UNRWA UNSDG UNSSC UNU UNU-OP UNU-CRIS UNV UN Women WFP
Specialized agencies	FAO ICAO IFAD ILO IMF IMO IOM ITU UNESCO UNIDO UNWTO UPU WFEO WHO WIPO WMO World Bank Group IBRD IDA IFC
Secretariat offices and departments	Headquarters Secretariat Building Conference Building General Assembly Building Envoy on Youth Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Geneva Palace of Nations Nairobi Vienna Economic and Social Affairs Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Dag Hammarskjöld Library Safety and Security Palestinian Rights Peace Operations Internal Oversight Legal Affairs Developing Countries Sport for Development and Peace Disarmament Affairs Outer Space Affairs Partnerships Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs UN organizations by location Sexual Violence in Conflict

Members
and observers

History

Preceding years	International Telegraph Union Universal Postal Union International Peace Conference Permanent Court of Arbitration Office international d'hygiène publique League of Nations archives charter organization members
Preparatory years	London Declaration (1941) Atlantic Charter (1941) Declaration by United Nations (1942) Moscow Conference (1943) Tehran Conference (1943) Dumbarton Oaks Conference (1944) Yalta Conference (1945) Conference on International Organization (1945)
Activities	Peacekeeping missions timeline governed territories Universal Declaration of Human Rights drafting Human Rights Day Enlargement Convention on the Rights of the Child committee Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples World Heritage Convention