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The International Law Commission was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948 with the purpose of codifying and promoting international law. It holds an annual session at the United Nations Office at Geneva. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The United Nations General Assembly (GA) is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations. ... The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The United Nations Office at Geneva is located in the Palais des Nations, originally constructed for the League of Nations in the 1930s. ...

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 comprised of 34 member elected by the General Assembly. Members act as individuals and not as officials representing their respective states. The League of Nations was an international organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919–1920. ... is the 265th day of the year (266th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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.

The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (or VCLT), adopted on May 22, 1969 and opened for signature on May 23, 1969, codified the pre-existing customary international law on treaties, with some necessary gap-filling and clarifications. ... Vienna Convention on Succession of States in respect of Treaties Opened for signature August 22, 1978 in Vienna Entered into force November 6, 1996 Conditions for entry into force 15 ratifications Parties Bosnia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Liberia, Morocco, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines... The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is an international treaty on diplomatic intercourse and the privileges and immunities of a diplomatic mission. ... The law of state responsibility are the principles governing when and how a state is held responsible for a breach of an international obligation. ... Official logo of the ICC. The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, crime of aggression, and war crimes, as defined by several international agreements, most prominently the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. ... Year 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• List of members of the International Law Commission
• United Nations Office of Legal Affairs

The United Nations International Law Commission is currently composed of 34 members: (for 2007–2011) Present and former members of the International Law Commission (un. ... The United Nations Office of Legal Affairs is a United Nations agency, established in 1946, that is currently administered by Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel of the United Nations Nicolas Michel. ...

External links

• International Law Commission
• Online Journal of International Law