The International Law Commission was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948 for the "promotion of the progressive development of international law and its codification."

It holds an annual session at the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Origin

Several attempts have been made in the effort to codify international law. The work which lead to the International Law Commission was begun in Resolution of the Assembly of the League of Nations of 22 September 1924. The United Nations adopted many concepts of the League's resolution in Article 13, Paragraph 1 of the Charter of the United Nations, "1. The General Assembly shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of: a. ... encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification." The Commission is 34 members elected by the General Assembly. Members act as individuals and not as officials representing their respective states.

Members of the Commission

Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Statute provides that the members of the Commission “shall be persons of recognized competence in international law”. The members of the Commission are persons who possess recognized competence and qualifications in both doctrinal and practical aspects of international law. Members are drawn from the various segments of the international legal community, such as academia, the diplomatic corps, government ministries and international organizations. [2] Since the members are often persons working in the academic and diplomatic fields with outside professional responsibilities, the Commission is able to proceed with its work not in an ivory tower but in close touch with the realities of international life. No two members of the Commission may be nationals of the same State (article 2, paragraph 2). [6] In case of dual nationality, a person is deemed to be a national of the State in which he or she ordinarily exercises civil and political rights (article 2, paragraph 3).

Achievements

The International Law Commission's work has led to the creation of a number of treaties and other works of international law that are key to the present international legal order (see generally under "Research Guide > Texts, instruments and final reports" on the International Law Commission site), for example:

• The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
• The Vienna Convention on Succession of States in respect of Treaties
• The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
• The Draft Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts
• The International Criminal Court, first proposed in 1949 at the request of the UN General Assembly.

References

See also

• United Nations Office of Legal Affairs

External links

• International Law Commission
• Online Journal of International Law