Contents

Part 1--Preliminary                                                                                                                1

1............ Short title [see Note 1] ....................................................................... 1

2............ Definitions .......................................................................................... 1

2A......... Meaning of designated Commonwealth entity .................................... 2

2B......... Meaning of UN sanction enforcement law .......................................... 2

3............ Extension to external Territories ......................................................... 3

4............ Act binds the Crown .......................................................................... 3

Part 2--Approval of Charter                                                                                             4

5............ Approval ............................................................................................ 4

Part 3--Regulations to Apply Security Council Sanctions                               5

Division 1--Making and effect of regulations                                                  5

6............ Regulations may apply sanctions ....................................................... 5

7............ Regulations may have extra‑territorial effect ...................................... 6

8............ Regulations expire when sanctions resolution ceases to bind Australia   6

9............ Effect of regulations on earlier Commonwealth Acts and on State and Territory laws            6

10.......... Later Acts not to be interpreted as overriding this Part or the regulations               7

11.......... Other instruments giving effect to Security Council decisions ........... 7

Division 2--Enforcing the regulations                                                                 8

12.......... Offences .............................................................................................. 8

13.......... Injunctions .......................................................................................... 8

13A....... Invalidation of permission, authorisations etc. ................................... 9

Part 4--Security Council decisions that relate to terrorism and dealings with assets          10

14.......... Definitions ........................................................................................ 10

15.......... Listing persons, entities and assets .................................................. 10

15A....... Duration of listing ............................................................................. 11

16.......... Minister may revoke the listing ........................................................ 12

17.......... Listed person or entity may apply to have the listing revoked ....... 12

18.......... Proscription by regulation ................................................................ 12

19.......... Effect of resolution ceasing to bind Australia ................................... 13

20.......... Offence--dealing with freezable assets ............................................ 14

21.......... Offence--giving an asset to a proscribed person or entity .............. 15

22.......... Authorised dealings .......................................................................... 17

22A ....... Regulations on procedures relating to freezable assets ..................... 18

22B....... Invalidation of notice for false or misleading information ................ 18

23.......... Part prevails over conflicting legal obligations .................................. 18

24.......... Indemnity for holder of assets .......................................................... 19

25.......... Compensation for persons wrongly affected ................................... 19

26.......... Injunctions ........................................................................................ 19

Part 5--Offences relating to UN sanctions                                                             21

27.......... Offence--Contravening a UN sanction enforcement law ................. 21

28.......... Offence--False or misleading information given in connection with a UN sanction enforcement law    22

Part 6--Information relating to UN sanctions                                                       24

29.......... CEO of Commonwealth entity may give information or document . 24

30.......... Power to require information or documents to be given ................... 24

31.......... Information may be required to be given on oath ............................. 25

32.......... Offence for failure to comply with requirement ............................... 25

33.......... Self‑incrimination not an excuse ....................................................... 25

34.......... CEO may copy documents .............................................................. 26

35.......... Further disclosure and use of information and documents ............... 26

36.......... Protection from liability ................................................................... 27

37.......... Retention of records and documents ................................................ 27

38.......... Delegation ......................................................................................... 28

Part 7--Miscellaneous                                                                                                        29

39.......... Regulations ....................................................................................... 29

The Schedule--Charter of the United Nations                                                     30

Notes                                                                                                                                             77

  

Notes to the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945

Note 1

The Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 as shown in this compilation comprises Act No. 32, 1945 amended as indicated in the Tables below.

For application, saving or transitional provisions made by the Corporations (Repeals, Consequentials and Transitionals) Act 2001, see Act No. 55, 2001.

All relevant information pertaining to application, saving or transitional provisions prior to 24 September 2007 is not incorporated in this compilation. For subsequent information see Table A.

Table of Acts

Act	Number and year	Date of Assent	Date of commencement	Application, saving or transitional provisions
Charter of the United Nations Act 1945	32, 1945	24 Sept 1945	22 Oct 1945
Charter of the United Nations Amendment Act 1993	30, 1993	9 June 1993	9 June 1993	--
Corporations (Repeals, Consequentials and Transitionals) Act 2001	55, 2001	28 June 2001	Ss. 4-14 and Schedule 3 (item 96): 15 July 2001 (see Gazette 2001, No. S285) (a)	Ss. 4-14 [see Note 1]
Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism Act 2002	66, 2002	5 July 2002	13 Dec 2002 (see Gazette 2002, No. S471)	--
Charter of the United Nations Amendment Act 2002	124, 2002	10 Dec 2002	Schedule 1: (b) Remainder: Royal Assent	--
International Trade Integrity Act 2007	147, 2007	24 Sept 2007	Schedule 1: 24 Mar 2008 Schedule 2: 25 Sept 2007 Remainder: Royal Assent	Sch. 1 (items 7, 25) [see Table A]
Statute Law Revision Act 2010	8, 2010	1 Mar 2010	Schedule 5 (item 27): Royal Assent	--
National Security Legislation Amendment Act 2010	127, 2010	24 Nov 2010	Schedule 7: 25 Nov 2010	Sch. 7 (item 4) [see Table A]

(a)     The Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 was amended by Schedule 3 (item 96) only of the Corporations (Repeals, Consequentials and Transitionals) Act 2001, subsection 2(3) of which provides as follows:

                 (3)   Subject to subsections (4) to (10), Schedule 3 commences, or is taken to have commenced, at the same time as the Corporations Act 2001.

(b)    Subsection 2(1) (item 2) of the Charter of the United Nations Amendment Act 2002 provides as follows:

                 (1)   Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, on the day or at the time specified in column 2 of the table.

 

Commencement information
Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
Provision(s)	Commencement	Date/Details
2.  Schedule 1	Immediately after the commencement of Part 4 of the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945	13 December 2002

Table of Amendments

ad. = added or inserted     am. = amended     rep. = repealed     rs. = repealed and substituted
Provision affected	How affected
Title......................................	rs. No. 30, 1993
Preamble.............................	rep. No. 30, 1993
Part 1
Heading to Part 1.................	ad. No. 30, 1993
S. 2......................................	rs. No. 147, 2007
	am. No. 8, 2010
Ss. 2A, 2B...........................	ad. No. 147, 2007
S. 3......................................	rs. No. 30, 1993
S. 4......................................	ad. No. 30, 1993
Part 2
Part 2...................................	ad. No. 30, 1993
S. 5......................................	ad. No. 30, 1993
Part 3
Part 3...................................	ad. No. 30, 1993
Division 1
S. 6......................................	ad. No. 30, 1993
	am. No. 147, 2007
Ss. 7, 8................................	ad. No. 30, 1993
S. 9......................................	ad. No. 30, 1993
	am. No. 55, 2001
Ss. 10, 11............................	ad. No. 30, 1993
Division 2
Ss. 12, 13............................	ad. No. 30, 1993
S. 13A.................................	ad. No. 147, 2007
Part 4
Heading to Part 4.................	rs. No. 147, 2007
Part 4 ..................................	ad. No. 66, 2002
S. 14....................................	ad. No. 66, 2002
	am. No. 147, 2007
S. 15....................................	ad. No. 66, 2002
	am. No. 127, 2010
S. 15A.................................	ad. No. 127, 2010
Ss. 16-18............................	ad. No. 66, 2002
S. 19....................................	ad. No. 66, 2002
	am. No. 127, 2010
Subhead. to s. 20(1)...........	ad. No. 147, 2007
S. 20....................................	ad. No. 66, 2002
	am. No. 147, 2007
Note to s. 20(2), (3)............	ad. No. 147, 2007
Subhead. to s. 21(1)...........	ad. No. 147, 2007
S. 21....................................	ad. No. 66, 2002
	am. No. 147, 2007
Note to s. 21(2)...................	ad. No. 147, 2007
S. 22....................................	ad. No. 66, 2002
	am. No. 124, 2002
S. 22A.................................	ad. No. 66, 2002
S. 22B.................................	ad. No. 147, 2007
Ss. 23-26............................	ad. No. 66, 2002
Part 5
Part 5...................................	ad. No. 147, 2007
Ss. 27, 28............................	ad. No. 147, 2007
Part 6
Part 6...................................	ad. No. 147, 2007
Ss. 29-38............................	ad. No. 147, 2007
Part 7
Part 7...................................	ad. No. 147, 2007
S. 39....................................	ad. No. 147, 2007

Note 2

The Schedule--Articles 23, 27, 61 and 109 were amended subsequent to the approval of the Charter by the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 and, as amended to 31 May 1983, are printed below. Notes on the amended Articles are also printed below.

TEXT OF AMENDED ARTICLES

Article 23

1.     The Security Council shall consist of fifteen Members of the United Nations. The Republic of China, France, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America shall be permanent members of the Security Council. The General Assembly shall elect ten other Members of the United Nations to be non‑permanent Members of the Security Council, due regard being specially paid, in the first instance to the contribution of Members of the United Nations to the maintenance of international peace and security and to the other purposes of the Organization, and also to equitable geographical distribution.

2. The non‑permanent members of the Security Council shall be elected for a term of two years. In the first election of the non‑permanent members after the increase of the membership of the Security Council from eleven to fifteen, two of the four additional members shall be chosen for a term of one year. A retiring member shall not be eligible for immediate re‑election.

3.     Each member of the Security Council shall have one representative.

Article 27

1.     Each member of the Security Council shall have one vote.

2.     Decisions of the Security Council on procedural matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members.

3.     Decisions of the Security Council on all other matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members including the concurring votes of the permanent members; provided that, in decisions under Chapter VI, and under paragraph 3 of Article 52, a party to a dispute shall abstain from voting.

Article 61

1.     The Economic and Social Council shall consist of fifty‑four Members of the United Nations elected by the General Assembly.

2.     Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3, eighteen members of the Economic and Social Council shall be elected each year for a term of three years. A retiring member shall be eligible for immediate re‑election.

3.     At the first election after the increase in the membership of the Economic and Social Council from twenty‑seven to fifty‑four members, in addition to the members elected in place of the nine members whose term of office expires at the end of that year, twenty‑seven additional members shall be elected. Of these twenty‑seven additional members, the term of office of nine members so elected shall expire at the end of one year, and of nine other members at the end of two years, in accordance with arrangements made by the General Assembly.

4.     Each member of the Economic and Social Council shall have one representative.

Article 109

1.     A General Conference of the Members of the United Nations for the purpose of reviewing the present Charter may be held at a date and place to be fixed by a two‑thirds vote of the members of the General Assembly and by a vote of any nine members of the Security Council. Each Member of the United Nations shall have one vote in the conference.

2.     Any alteration of the present Charter recommended by a two‑thirds vote of the conference shall take effect when ratified in accordance with their respective constitutional processes by two thirds of the Members of the United Nations including all the permanent members of the Security Council.

3.     If such a conference has not been held before the tenth annual session of the General Assembly following the coming into force of the present Charter, the proposal to call such a conference shall be placed on the agenda of that session of the General Assembly, and the conference shall be held if so decided by a majority vote of the members of the General Assembly and by a vote of any seven members of the Security Council.

NOTES ON AMENDED ARTICLES

Amendments to Articles 23, 27 and 61 of the Charter of the United Nations, adopted by the General Assembly on 17 December 1963, came into force on 31 August 1965. A further amendment to Article 61, adopted by the General Assembly on 20 December 1971, came into force on 24 September 1973. An amendment to Article 109, adopted by the General Assembly on 20 December 1965, came into force on 12 June 1968.

The amendment to Article 23 enlarged the membership of the Security Council from eleven to fifteen.

The amended Article 27 provides that decisions of the Security Council on procedural matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members (formerly seven) and on all other matters by an affirmative vote of nine members (formerly seven), including the concurring votes of the five permanent members of the Security Council.

The first amendment to Article 61 enlarged the membership of the Economic and Social Council from eighteen to twenty‑seven. The further amendment to Article 61 enlarged the membership of the Economic and Social Council to fifty‑four members.

The amendment to Article 109 provides that a General Conference of Member States for the purpose of reviewing the Charter may be held at a date and place to be fixed by a two‑thirds vote of the members of the General Assembly and by a vote of any nine members (formerly seven) of the Security Council.

Note 3

The Schedule--Poland, which signed the Charter on 15 October 1945 (being a date subsequent to the date on which the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 received the Royal Assent), is also an original member.

Table A

Application, saving or transitional provisions

International Trade Integrity Act 2007 (No. 147, 2007)

Schedule 1

7  Application

Section 13A of the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945, as in force after the commencement of this item, applies in relation to a relevant authorisation granted in respect of an application made on or after that commencement.

25  Application

Section 22B of the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945, as in force after the commencement of this item, applies in relation to a notice made in respect of an application made on or after that commencement.

National Security Legislation Amendment Act 2010 (No. 127, 2010)

Schedule 7

4  Transitional--listings under section 15 of the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945

A listing that was made under subsection 15(1) or (3) of the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 and that was in force immediately before the commencement of this item has effect, after that commencement, as if:

                     (a)  it had been made under that subsection as amended by this Act; and

                     (b)  for the purposes only of section 15A of that Act, it had been made immediately after that commencement.