Abstract: The Procedure of the UN Security Council is the definitive book of its kind and has been widely used by UN practitioners and scholars for over twenty years. This new revised and thoroughly updated third edition encompasses the many changes in Council procedure that have occurred since the end of the Cold War, which ushered in new possibilities for international co-operation, and increased recourse to the UN. The last decade has seen the Gulf War and a plethora of new and often complex peacekeeping operations, from Bosnia to Rwanda, and such increased demands and associated expectations have placed a spotlight on the role and functioning of the Security Council. Recent years have seen a greater recourse to informal consultations of Council members prior to Council meetings, and the search for consensual Council decision-making has led to differences of opinion on both procedural and substantive matters being dealt with largely during such consultations. This has produced calls from non-members for greater Council transparency. Other proposals, both from within and outside the UN, have advocated reforms to the Council's composition or working methods to ensure its continued effectiveness and legitimacy. The new edition attempts to reflect the many recent developments in the procedure of the Security Council, while still reflecting the considerable continuity that exists with the past. In particular, to illustrate and illuminate aspects of Council procedure, many examples have been used from the UN's early years, since this was the time when many of the original precedents were created. Some of the anecdotes that touch on the human side of Council diplomacy have also been retained. The new edition includes new information on the following: the Provisional Rules of Procedure; public and private meetings; consultations and briefings with non-members and troop-contributors, including transparency, Presidential briefings, and orientation debates; informal consultations and ‘Arria formula’ meetings; the appointment of the Secretary-General of the UN; relationships with the UN General Assembly, the UN International Court of Justice, the UN Trusteeship Council, and the UN Military Staff Committee; subsidiary organs, including sanctions committees; the veto and Security Council membership; Chapter VII resolutions, UN peacekeeping and UN-authorized enforcement; Council enlargement and de jure and de facto Charter amendments; changes in Council documentation; and ad hoc and regional groupings in the Council.

Keywords: ad hoc groupings, appointment of the Secretary-General, Arria formula meetings, briefings with non-members, briefings with troop-contributors, changes, Chapter VII resolutions, composition, continuity, documentation, effectiveness, enlargement, informal consultations, international co-operation, legitimacy, membership, non-members, orientation debates, Presidential briefings, private meetings, procedures, Provisional Rules of Procedure, public meetings, reform, regional groupings, relationships with the UN International Court of Justice, relationships with the UN Military Staff Committee, relationships with the UN Trusteeship Council, relationships with the UN General Assembly, sanctions committees, Secretary-General of UN, subsidiary organs, transparency, troop-contributors, UN-authorized enforcement, UN Charter, UN Charter amendments, UN General Assembly, UN International Court of Justice, UN Military Staff Committee, UN peacekeeping, UN Security Council, UN Trusteeship Council, UN, veto, working methods