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number of important subjects of international law, such as various
aspects of the law of the sea (1958), diplomatic relations, consular
relations, law of treaties between nations, succession of states in respect
to treaties, law of treaties between nations and international

organizations, and immunity of states from the jurisdiction of other
states. Upon acceptance by the General Assembly, these drafts are
submitted to international conferences convoked by the UN for the

negotiation of the respective In some instances, the UN has convoked
conferences to negotiate treaties without prior proposal by the
International Law Commission. The most important example was the
third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea which terminated its work in

1982 with the draft of a convention for a comprehensive regime
governing all aspects of the peaceful use of the oceans. Another example
is the text of the convention governing the activities of nations on the

moon and other celestial bodies, which was adopted by the General
Assembly in 1979 and went into effect in 1984.
Since the UN Charter bans the use of force against the territorial

integrity or political independence of any state, the UN has refrained
from addressing aspects of the law of war and neutrality. Nevertheless,
the four Geneva conventions of 1949 – the so-called Red Cross

Conventions – formulated improved agreements relative to the
amelioration of the condition of wounded and sick members of the
armed forces in the field and at sea, the treatment of prisoners of war,
and the protection of civilian persons in wartime, thereby instilling new

life into the humanitarian principles of international law.
International law regulates intercourse among nations in peacetime
and provides methods for the settlement of disputes by means other than

war. Apart from procedures made available by the UN, these methods
include direct negotiation between disputants under the established rules
of diplomacy, the rendering of good offices by a disinterested third

party, and recourse to the International Court of Justice. Other peacetime
aspects of international law involve the treatment of foreigners and of
foreign investments; the acquisition and loss of citizenship; and status of

stateless persons; the extradition of fugitives; and the privileges and
duties of diplomatic personnel.

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