of Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom, and United States. A list of the Representatives and Advisers of the Member States is appended (Annex 2).

The Commission was directed to submit its reports and recommendations to the Security Council. In the appropriate cases, the Security Council is to transmit these reports to the General Assembly and to the Members of the United Nations, as well as to the Economic and Social Council and other organs within the framework of the United Nations.

ON DECEMBER 14, 1946 THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY APPROVED UNANImously a resolution concerning "Principles Governing the General Regulation and Reduction of Armaments" which has an important bearing on the work of the Commission (full text of resolution is on pages 9-11).

THE ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION HELD ITS FIRST MEETING ON JUNE 14, 1946 in New York City. At this meeting a resolution was adopted creating a Committee on Rules of Procedure, on which one Representative of each Member State would serve. The Committee held three meetings and drew up the Provisional Rules of Procedure for the Atomic Energy Commission. This document was adopted by the Atomic Energy Commission at its fourth meeting held on July 3 and approved by the Security Council on July 10 (Rules of Procedure, Atomic Energy Commission Official Records, Supplement No. 2).

The rules provide that the chairmanship of the Commission shall be held in turn, for one calendar month, by the States represented on the Commission in the English alphabetical order of their names. Accordingly, the Commission has been served by the following chairmen: The Right Honorable H. V. Evatt (Australia), Captain Alvaro Alberto da Motta e Silva (Brazil), General The Honorable A. G. L. McNaughton, G.B., C.M.G., D.S.O. (Canada), Dr. C. L. Hsia (China), Colonel Mohamed Bey Khalifa (Egypt), His Excellency Mr. Alexandre Parodi (France), and Dr. Manuel Sandoval-Vallarta (Mexico). The rules also provide that all decisions of the Atomic Energy Commission shall be made by a majority of the Members of the Commission.

As noted above, the terms of reference of the Atomic Energy Commission embrace the elimination from national armaments not only of atomic weapons but also ". . . of all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction." The Commission, however, has proceeded on the assumption that inquiry into the matter

of atomic energy and recommendations for its control were the most urgent problems before it. Accordingly, it has occupied itself first, and thus far exclusively, with that subject. Furthermore, if a satisfactory solution to that problem could be found, it might furnish a guide for "the elimination from national armaments . . . of all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction." The Commission held three meetings on June 14, 19, and 25 to hear the views of the various governments on carrying out the terms of reference given to the Commission by the General Assembly. The statements of each of the governments are contained in the verbatim records of these meetings (Verbatim Records of Meetings of the Atomic Energy Commission on June 14, 19, and 25, Atomic Energy Commission Official Records, Nos. 1, 2, and 3). THE COMMISSION AT ITS THIRD MEETING CREATED A WORKING COMmittee composed of one Representative of each of the 12 Members to consider all proposals and suggestions which had been made to the Commission and to appoint such other committees as seemed necessary. Under its broad terms of reference, the Working Committee acted as a coordinating body for the work done by the other committees.

This Committee held its first meeting on June 28 and set up Subcommittee 1 with membership consisting of Representatives of France, Mexico, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and as chairman, the Representative of Australia. Later the other Members were invited to send observers to its meetings. The five meetings of Subcommittee 1 held between July 1 and 11 were informal in character and no votes were taken (Annex 3, Summary Records of Meetings of Subcommittee 1 held on July 1, 2, 5, 8, and 11). The Committee considered working documents which had been submitted by Members of the Commission (Annex 4, Working Documents Submitted by Members of the Atomic Energy Commission).

At the second meeting of the Working Committee on July 12, 1946, the chairman reported on the work of Subcommittee 1 and submitted his own conclusions (Annex 4, Working Documents Submitted by Members of the Atomic Energy Commission). He pointed out that the discussions had revealed three questions on which differences of view would have to be resolved before an agreed plan could be formulated:

(a) whether it was desirable to negotiate a convention dealing solely with the "outlawing" of atomic weapons or whether the

obligation not to make or use such weapons should be within the framework of a general plan, an essential part of which should be an effective system of controls to ensure use of atomic energy only for peaceful purposes;

(b) the general type of international controls and measures necessary for inclusion within the framework of a general plan; and (c) the relationship between organized measures for the international control of atomic energy and the United Nations.

At the same meeting, the Working Committee established three other committees, each composed of Representatives of the twelve Members of the Commission, with the following terms of reference:

Committee 2

"1. To examine questions associated with the control of atomic energy activities, including all measures designed to insure the prevention of the use of atomic energy for purposes of destruction and other weapons of mass destruction, and also including the subject matter of possible conventions, sanctions and observance; and

"2. to make specific recommendations on the said subjects." Legal Advisory Committee

"To act as an auxiliary to the Working Committee and other committees in respect of all legal matters and to advise on all drafting questions. The Committee would also

"(a) examine the legal aspects of the relationships between the systems or measures of control as recommended by Committee 2 and the United Nations; and

"(b) ultimately submit a draft treaty or treaties to the Working Committee."

Scientific and Technical Committee

"A Committee consisting of one scientific adviser appointed by each of the twelve countries represented on the Atomic Energy Commission:

"(a) to advise the Working Committee and all other committees of the Commission on scientific and technical questions referred to it;

"(b) to consider and recommend proposals for the exchange of information;

"(c) to consider and recommend proposals for the peaceful uses of atomic energy; and "(d) to consider and recommend proposals on all scientific and technical matters connected with the activities of the Commission."

AT ITS FIFTH MEETING ON JULY 18, THE COMMISSION RECEIVED statements from the outgoing and incoming chairmen and formally adopted its Rules of Procedure as approved on July 10, 1946 by the Security Council.

Committee 2 continued the work which had been started in the Working Committee and Subcommittee 1 and examined at length the proposals which had been put forward, in particular those of the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. At its fourth meeting held on July 31, the Committee decided that, before proceeding with further discussions, it was advisable to clarify the scientific and technical facts that underlie control, although it was recognized that the question of control for purposes of prevention or enforcement involved both technical and political aspects. Accordingly, the Scientific and Technical Committee was requested to present "a report on the question of whether effective control of atomic energy is possible, together with an indication of the methods by which the Scientific and Technical Committee considers that effective control can be achieved." On August 6 Committee 2 decided to defer further meetings until it had received the report of the Scientific and Technical Committee (Annex 5, Summary Records of Meetings of Committee 2 held on July 17, 24, 26, 31, and August 6). MEANWHILE THE LEGAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE HAD HELD THREE meetings and, with the assistance of the Secretariat, had drawn up a provisional list of topics which was submitted to the Working Committee on August 7 (Annex 6, Provisional List of Topics for Consideration by the Legal Advisory Committee). The chairman of the Legal Advisory Committee explained that the order in which the questions should be examined was closely related to the work of the other committees, and he, therefore, asked for guidance as to which item should be first examined.

The Working Committee considered the matter on August 9, and an understanding was reached that the Legal Advisory Committee would not proceed with a discussion of the topics on the provisional list until further advised by the Working Committee. THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL COMMITTEE MET ON AUGUST 1 TO discuss questions posed by Committee 2. Meeting almost daily

for informal discussions, the scientists prepared a report which was completed by the end of August. Final action, however, was not taken until September 26, when the report, included in its entirety as Part IV of this report, was adopted unanimously by the Scientific and Technical Committee, subject only to the following reservation on the part of the Representative of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: "The information at the disposal of the Committee was, as the report acknowledges, limited and incomplete. For this reason, the majority of the conclusions in the Committee's report are hypothetical and conditional. It is with this reservation that I vote for the adoption of the report." The approach of the Scientific and Technical Committee to its work is indicated in the following statement from the Introduction to its report:

"At the beginning of our discussion, it was realized that a broad exploration of the technically possible methods of controlling atomic energy to ensure against its use as a weapon would inevitably lead us to the consideration of problems of a non-technical or political nature, which would have to be taken into account in a system of control. Since political matters are wholly within the jurisdiction of other committees of the Atomic Energy Commission, it was decided to limit ourselves strictly to the scientific and technical aspects of the question."

The report outlines the basic scientific and technical facts in the production and peaceful use of atomic energy and points out the dangers which would result from the diversion of materials, from clandestine operations, and from seizure. It concludes with the statement that “. we do not find any basis in the available scientific facts for supposing that effective control is not technologically feasible."

COMMITTEE 2 HELD ITS SIXTH MEETING ON OCTOBER 2 TO CONSIDER the report of the Scientific and Technical Committee and decided to continue its discussions on the basis of the report. On October 8 Committee 2 unanimously adopted the following resolution proposed by the Representative of Canada:

"That Committee 2 proceed to examine and report on the safeguards required at each stage in the production and use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes to prevent the possibilities of misuse indicated in the Report of the Scientific and Technical Committee; that the Committee may hold informal meetings as it may decide, at which scientific Representatives may take part in the discussions."