70 Years of the International Law Commission

A few weeks ago, the International Law Commission, a body of the United Nations, started its 70th session in New York City.

As a blog post from the Peace Palace Library in The Hague explains:

"Its achievements range from laying the groundwork for the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to adopting the 2001 articles on the responsibility of States for internationally wrongful acts."

The purpose of the Commission, as defined under article 13 (1) (a) of the Charter of the United Nations, is to "initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of ... encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification".

It is currently working on issues such as:

• Crimes against humanity
• Immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction
• Provisional application of treaties
• Identification of customary international law
• Protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts
• Protection of the atmosphere
• Peremptory norms of general international law (jus cogens)
• Succession of States in respect of State responsibility

In the past, I have found its research guides to be very useful sources to help understand international law.