Legal Content of Disarmament as a Principle of Modern International Law

Abstract

At each stage of historical development in the world there were problems that are of universal global character. Such a problem in the modern world is the problem of disarmament. The article studies disarmament as a principle of modern international law. Analyzing the content of the disarmament principle on the basis of the provisions enshrined in the UN Charter, states do not yet have a direct duty to disarm. This duty must be mediated through other rules that require States to do so, and the creation by States of such norms is their duty. Noting the difficulty of developing a mutually acceptable agreement on disarmament, the author shows the role of the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council in defining the general principles of disarmament and developing concrete plans in this area. In this context, the work of the main organs of the United Nations, the author also considers the role of the Military Staff Committee as a subsidiary body of the UN Security Council. The author then examines the role of the UN Disarmament Commission. Despite the fact that the Commission is not directly called upon to draft specific draft agreements on disarmament, this, in our view, is possible because the possibility of considering specific disarmament plans is not excluded from the functions of the General Assembly. At the same time, the author notes that the activities of the Commission can not be outside the jurisdiction of the UN Security Council, since it is this body that is responsible for developing the final disarmament plans. An analysis of the international legal doctrine and existing international legal acts leads the author to the conclusion that in the modern international law the disarmament principle is being formed, which acquires a qualitatively different character with the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons