The twenty-fifth anniversary of the United Nations is not altogether a time for rejoicing. Although every state, large or small, acknowledges the indispensability of the United Nations as the only near-universal organization of the nations of the world, and the only authoritative forum of world opinion, the hope that, after the tragic failure of the League of Nations and the catastrophic experiences of World War n, a new and more realistically structured world organization would effectively safeguard, under the leadership of the leading five powers, the peace and security of the world has failed to materialize. It is not however the object of this article to analyze the reasons for this tragic failure but rather to survey one of the most notable and perhaps not generally sufficiently appreciated achievements of the United Nations: its important role in the making and development of international law. We may perhaps divide the law-making activities of the United Nations into three broad categories: first, the official and acknowledged law-making role of the International Law Commission, and the Sixth Committee; secondly, the varied and unexpectedly fertile role of the political organs of the United Nations in the development of international law; and, thirdly, the decisive impact of the United Nations itself and, even more, of the specialized agencies of the United Nations on the development of international constitutional and administrative law.