Sixth Committee - Legal (6th Legal)

Committee Profile

The Sixth Legal Committee of the United Nations is one of the six main committees of the General Assembly of the United Nations. The Sixth Committee mainly deals with matters of international law and generally handles the legal matters of the United Nations. This means that the Sixth Committee generally handles the creation of treaties for the United Nations. However, there are a number of other international bodies that also assist with treaty writing. The Sixth Committee has universal membership meaning that every member of the United Nations is a party to this committee.

At this conference, 6th Legal will discuss two topics:

Readdressing Diplomatic and Official Immunity

Establishment of Rules Addressing Conduct Regarding Indirect Contributions to War

Topic A is an extremely current issue due to the Russia-Ukraine War. The question of official immunity (immunity for country leaders) has been on the mind of many international legal scholars because of the recent arrest warrant for President Vladimar Putin issued by the International Criminal Court. Unfortunately, neither Russia or Ukraine is a member of the ICC meaning that the ICC does not have direct jurisdiction over this case. Nonetheless, this case asks an interesting question of whether officials are able to be arrested under international law. Right now, there is only diplomatic and consular immunity under international law, whereas official immunity is covered under customary international law. While this might seem like a lot of legal jargon, this committee will help you to understand the nuances of international law a lot better.

Topic B is an interesting issue to address in regards to conduct during war. Indirect contributions to war are certain items that contribute to the military power of a group but are not necessarily used during combat. To put this into perspective, I present you with two questions: Is it lawful for a country to bomb the oil fields that a terrorist organization relies on for its income? Is it lawful for that country to respond by bombing that country’s food supplies? These are the sorts of questions this committee will help to answer. We hope to see you in this committee!

Chair Letter

Dear Delegates,

My name is Lauren Akason (she/her) and I am a third year political science student here at UCLA! I am involved in a number of different organizations on campus including student government, UCLA Radio, student research, and of course Model UN. In my free time, I enjoy playing NYT Crossword puzzles, exploring Los Angeles, and listening to podcasts. I am originally from Kansas City, Missouri (Go Chiefs!), but have also lived in Connecticut and Minnesota. I hope to one day work in politics and have experience working for the government, which I am happy to talk more about. I am also extremely passionate about mentorship and professional development for students so feel free to ask my questions about that as well!

I am so excited to be chairing the Sixth Legal Committee this year! I am extremely passionate about international law and think it is an important area to have a background in if you are looking to go into international relations. I got my start in Model UN at a conference in Overland Park, Kansas where I represented Peru in the Security Council. Since then, I have staffed multiple UCLA Model UN conferences. I chaired the ECOSOC committee at last year’s BruinMUN as well as staffed LAMUN’s 2023 Ad Hoc committee and 2022 MI6 Crisis Committee. Being in Model UN has taught me a number of skills that I use in my academic and professional life. Not only have my public speaking skills improved exponentially, I also have taken an interest in international politics that I would not have without Model UN. I am so excited to nerd out about international law with all of you at this conference.

Again, I am looking forward to chairing the Sixth Committee of BruinMUN 2023. Please reach out to me with any questions concerning this committee or anything else! I am also happy to talk about anything concerning international law!

Sincerely,

Lauren Akason | Chair | BruinMUN 31

6thlegal@bruinmun.org