In the October, 1942, number of this JOURNAL, there was published an article by the present writer dealing with the jurisdiction of the courts of one nation over the personnel of the armed forces of another friendly nation on the soil of the former. During the three years which have elapsed since that time there have issued several international agreements, statutes, executive orders, and judicial decisions in various countries dealing with this subject, a summary of which will bring the previous article down to date.

The delegates to the International Civil Aviation Conference held at Chicago from November 1 to December 7, 1944, adopted a resolution stating that as the CITEJA had made considerable progress in the development of a code of private international air law, and that as the further elaboration of this code, through the completion of pending CITEJA projects and the initiation of new studies in the field of private air law, would contribute materially to the development of international civil aviation, they recommended that the various governments represented at the Chicago Conference give consideration to the desirability of bringing about the resumption of the CITEJA sessions at the earliest possible date. They further recommended that consideration be given to the desirability of coördinating the activities of CITEJA with those of the provisional and permanent international civil aviation organizations provided for at the Chicago Conference.

One of the methods by which National Socialist Germany hoped to win the war consisted of the deportation of non-Germans, mainly citizens of occupied territories, as a labor force in support of the German war effort. The hope was not fulfilled but this policy, carried out on an enormous scale, enabled the Third Reich to wage war much more ruthlessly and for a much longer period than would have been possible otherwise. With hostilities ended and their lands devastated, several of the United Nations now intend to obtain at least partial reparation of the damage caused to them by transferring Germans as a labor force for reconstruction work.

This legislation constitutes belated recognition of the need for granting to international organizations of which the United States is a member, and to their personnel, a legal status which is adequate to ensure the effective performance of their functions and the fulfillment of their purposes. It will “not only protect the official character of public international organizations in this country,” as the Senate Committee on Finance has stated, “but it will also tend to strengthen the position of international organizations of which the United States is a member when they are located or carry on their activities in other countries.”

The First Part of the First General Assembly of the United Nations was in session in London from January 10 to February 14, 1946. Meeting intermittently during this period also were the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council.