Even though the membership of the United Nations has increased fourfold and the global balance of power has changed dramatically, the structure of the United Nations Security Council still retains the power structure of 1945. This paper reviews the arguments for the reform of the United Nations Security Council, focusing on the veto system and on the Indian claim for permanent membership. The paper is based on the doctrinal/criteria approach: the relevant provisions of the Charter and General Assembly resolutions are reviewed, the representation statistics of the different regions is compared, and the Indian case is evaluated based on the set of criteria. The results demonstrate the disproportional character of the United Nations Security Council membership as compared to the General Assembly, identify the veto system as the reason of paralysis in the crises situation, and prove that the Indian case for permanent membership is good in terms of population size, economic potential, and contribution to peacekeeping operations, while being challenged in terms of regional rivalry and unanimity for Charter amendments.
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