Abstract

This chapter examines the order/justice issue within the institutionalized context of the UN. It asks whether the UN and its members have achieved a substantive consensus on the content of international justice, and concludes that the underlying tension evident in the UN Charter between rules designed to bolster interstate stability and those aimed at the promotion of justice still persist. Nevertheless, it also argues that the pursuit of various justice issues has long been seen as a legitimate part of UN activities; thus, despite the controversies such activities generate, the UN's interest in justice issues will continue.