ABSTRACT
A representative parliamentary body at the United Nation (UN) could serve as a channel for the world’s citizens to be heard and for their will to be felt. The democratic ideal in choosing representatives would be direct elections. An alternative approach is the one used by the European Parliament. A UN Parliament should not be proposed as a replacement for any existing institution, but as an adjunct to them. The UN General Assembly could establish it as a ‘subsidiary organ’. Its role initially could be that of an advisory body. Beginning as an advisory body, a Parliamentary Assembly would be able to pass its own resolutions in the form of recommendations to national governments. The Parliamentary Assembly might additionally review and adopt resolutions of the General Assembly. Resolutions which passed with a majority in both assemblies might be accorded some higher status, conceivably the status of binding international law.
