International Law
These South African actions gave rise to several rulings at the International Court of Justice, which in 1950 ruled that South Africa was not obliged to convert South-West Africa into a UN trust territory, but was still bound by the League of Nations Mandate with the United Nations General Assembly assuming the supervisory role. The ICJ also clarified that the General Assembly was empowered to receive petitions from the inhabitants of South-West Africa and to call for reports from the mandatary nation, South Africa. The General Assembly constituted the Committee on South-West Africa to perform the supervisory functions. In another advisory opinion issued in 1955, the Court further ruled that the General Assembly was not required to follow League of Nations voting procedures in determining questions concerning South-West Africa. In 1956, the Court further ruled that the Committee had the power to grant hearings to petitioners from the mandated territory. In 1960, Ethiopia and Liberia filed a case in the International Court of Justice against South Africa alleging that South Africa had not fulfilled its mandatary duties. This case did not succeed, with the Court ruling in 1966 that they were not the proper parties to bring the case.
Read more about this topic: South-West Africa
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