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(d) Trusteeship Council* The Trusteeship Council, which is responsible to the General Assembly for the supervision of the trusteeship system, consists of those member States which administer trust territories, together with an equal number of non-administering members. The latter category includes those permanent members of the Security Council not included in the former category, the remainder being elected for three-year terms. At present the administering members are Australia, Belgium, France, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States. The non-administering members are China and Soviet Union (permanent), Iraq and Mexico (retiring at end of 1949), Costa Rica and Philippines (retiring at end of 1950). The Council normally meets twice a year and may hold special sessions. (<?) International Court of Justice The Court is the principal legal organ of the United Nations. Its 15 Judges serve for nine-year terms and may be re-elected. Five Judges were so re-elected by the Security Council and the General Assembly in 1948. {/) Secretariat The Secretariat (which ranks as a principal organ of the organization) is headed by a Secretary-General appointed for a five-year term by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. The total number of staff on 28 February, 1949, was 3,858, of whom 13 were New Zealanders. 3. Maintenance of Peace and Security While a number of important problems came before the Security Council during the year, it became increasingly clear that the frequent use of the veto by the Soviet Union in that body was reducing its usefulness to a point where other means of securing international peace must be sought. As a result a number of questions which might have been considered to be within the province of the Council were brought instead before the General Assembly. Another consequence of the comparative ineffectiveness of the Council was the conclusion of a regional defence agreement by five Western European States, and negotiations for a wider agreement which would also include the United States and Canada. Regional arrangements have their place in the security system established by

* New Zealand a member.