Book Review: International Law and Organization, Le Role Prominent du Secretaire General dans L'Operation des Nations Unies au Congo
| DOI | 10.1177/002070206502000213 |
| Author | J. King Gordon |
| Published date | 01 June 1965 |
| Date | 01 June 1965 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
BOOK
REviEws
251
of
the
political
bodies.
His
counterpart
in
the
I.L.O.,
Dr.
Albert
Thomas,
approached
his
duties
with a bit
more abandon
and
dlan,
but
still within
the
administrative
framework.
In
the planning
of
the
new
world
organization,
at
Dumbarton
Oaks,
San
Francisco, and
later
in
the
Preparatory
Commission,
a
consensus
emerged
that
more
would
be
expected
from
the
Secretary-General
of
the
United
Nations. This
ad-
vance
in
thinking
was
reflected
in
the
Charter-in
Articles
97-100
and,
by
implication,
in
a number
of
other
sections.
As
the
Organization
founded
on
the
Charter
has taken
shape
and
grown
in
response to
the tasks
it
has
undertaken
and
the
problems
it
has
encountered,
so
also
has
the
office
of
the
Secretary-General.
Trygve
Lie
took
initiatives
which
Drummond
would
never
have
entertained.
Dag
Hammarskjold,
both
in
his
personal actions and
in
his
philosophi-
cal
exposition,
articulated
a
concept
of
"preventive
diplomacy"
and
executive
action which,
in
his
view,
flowed
from
the
principles of
the
Charter.
U
Thant,
lacking
perhaps
the
creative
boldness
and
the
power
of
legal
exegesis
of his
predecessor,
has nevertheless
stood
firm
in
Hammarskjold's
tradition.
Professor Langrod
has
produced
an
invaluable
book
for
the
student
of
international
organization.
It
contains
a thorough
and
detailed
survey
of
the
development
of
the
international
civil
service
from
its
primitive beginnings in
the international
unions
of
the
19th
century
up
to
the present
time.
It
is
particularly
useful
because
of
its
excellent
documentation,
the
wide-ranging
notes
at
the
end
of
each
chapter,
and
its
extensive
bibliography.
University
of
Alberta
J.
KING
GORDON
LE
ROLE
PROMINENT
DU
SECRETAIRE
GENERAL
DANS
L'OPERATION
DES
NA-
7IONS
UNIES
AU
CONGO.
By
Fernand
van
Langenhove.
1964.
(Bru-
xelles:
Institut
Royal
des
Relations
Internationales.
260pp.
400FB)
Fernand
van Langenhove
is
a
Member
of
the
Royal
Academy
of
Belgium.
At
one
time
he
was
Belgium's
Permanent
Representative
to
the
United
Nations.
When
he
wrote this
book
he
had
the
choice
of
writing
as
a
distinguished
scholar
or
as
a
protagonist
of
his
country
in
a
highly
controversial
issue.
The
trouble
is
he
tried
to
do
both.
His
account
of
the
Congo
operation
is
voluminously documented:
but
there
are
strange
lacunae.
His
portrait
of
the
Secretary-General-
and
it
is
not
an
unsympathetic
one-is
sketched
from a
rich
palette:
quotations
by
the
score
from Hammarskjold's statements,
speeches
and writings.
But
there are
bare
patches
of
canvas and sometimes
the
colours
clash.
Dr.
van Langenhove's
task
was
a
twofold
one:
to
give
a
historical
account
of
developments
in
the
Congo
from
the
date
of
its
indepen-
dence
to
the
ending
of
Katanga's
secession;
and
to
show
the
role
played
by
the
Secretary-General
as
director
of
the
U.N.
Congo
operation.
The
book,
then,
falls
neatly
into
two
parts.
But
the
two
parts
must
fit
together.
The
interpretation
of
history
must
account
for
certain
decisions
and
actions
on
the
part
of
the
Secretary-General.
And
the
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