Membership
2021 Election of the International Law Commission
The election was held on Friday, 12 November 2021, at 10 a.m..
Webcast:| Outcome of the election »
The term of office of the present 34 members of the International Law Commission will expire at the end of 2022. The election of the members of the Commission for a five-year term beginning on 1 January 2023 will take place at the seventy-sixth session of the General Assembly (on 12 November 2021).
The General Assembly, in paragraph 3 of resolution 36/39 of 18 November 1981, decided that the 34 members of the International Law Commission shall be elected according to the following pattern:
(a) Eight nationals from African States;
(b) Seven nationals from Asia-Pacific States;
(c) Three nationals from Eastern European States;
(d) Six nationals from Latin American and Caribbean States;
(e) Eight nationals from Western European and other States;
(f) One national from African States or Eastern European States in rotation, with the seat being allocated to a national of an African State in the first election held after the adoption of the resolution 36/39;
(g) One national from Asia-Pacific States or Latin American and Caribbean States in rotation, with the seat being allocated to a national of an Asia-Pacific State in the first election held after the adoption of the resolution 36/39.
The rotational seat referred to in subparagraph (f) above was allocated to a national of an Eastern European State at the election held in 2016. Accordingly, the seat shall be allocated to a national of an African State at the forthcoming election.
The rotational seat referred to in subparagraph (g) above was allocated to a national of a Latin American and Caribbean State at the election held in 2016. Accordingly, the seat shall be allocated to a national of an Asia-Pacific State at the forthcoming election.
Thus, the allocation of seats on the Commission for the five-year term beginning on 1 January 2023 will be as follows:
- Nine nationals from African States;
- Eight nationals from Asia-Pacific States;
- Three nationals from Eastern European States;
- Six nationals from Latin American and Caribbean States;
- Eight nationals from Western European and other States.
The Statute of the International Law Commission provides in article 2 that the International Law Commission shall consist of 34 members who shall be persons of recognized competence in international law, with no two members being nationals of the same State and that in case of dual nationality a candidate shall be deemed to be a national of the State in which he ordinarily exercises civil and political rights.
The members of the Commission are to be elected by the General Assembly from a list of candidates nominated by the Governments of States Members of the United Nations. Each State Member of the United Nations may nominate not more than four candidates, of whom two may be nationals of the nominating State and two nationals of other States (articles 3, 4 and 7). Members of the Commission shall be elected for five years and shall be eligible for re-election (article 10).
It is to be recalled that the General Assembly, in resolution 73/341 of 12 September 2019, encouraged Member States to continue nominating “women candidates…for the subsidiary organs of the General Assembly in seeking to promote gender balance”.
The nomination period for the forthcoming election was opened by means of a Note Verbale, dated 23 October 2020, transmitted on behalf of the Secretary-General to all Permanent Representatives of Member States to the United Nations.
The Statute provides in article 5 that the names of the candidates shall be submitted in writing by Governments to the Secretary-General by the first of June of the year in which an election is held, provided that a Government may in exceptional circumstances substitute for a candidate whom it has nominated before the first of June another candidate whom it shall name not later than 30 days before the opening of the General Assembly.
The Secretary-General is required by articles 6 and 7 of the Statute to communicate the names submitted as soon as possible to Governments of States Members of the United Nations, as well as any statements of qualifications of candidates that may have been submitted by the nominating Governments, and to submit to the General Assembly for the purposes of the election a list of the candidates nominated.
By rule 92 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, the election will be held by secret ballot.
According to article 9 of the Statute of the Commission, those candidates, up to the maximum number prescribed for each regional group, who obtain the greatest number of votes and at least a majority of the votes of the States Members present and voting shall be elected. If the maximum number of persons prescribed for each regional group is not elected on the first ballot, there shall be additional ballots to fill the remaining places in accordance with the appropriate provisions of rule 94 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly.
The following is a list of nominations received from States, which is being made available, in accordance with article 6 of the Statute, for information and the convenience of delegations only.
The nominations submitted by Governments to the Secretary-General by 1 June 2021, in reply to his request, are, pursuant to article 6 of the Statute, set out below (see also A/76/82 + Add.1):
(Nominations are reflected below in alphabetical order by regional group, with hyperlinks to the statements of qualifications received for each candidate)
African States (9 seats)
| Candidates (Nationality) | Nominated by | |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. | Cissé, Yacouba (Côte d’Ivoire) | Côte d’Ivoire |
| Mr. | Fall, Aly (Mauritania) | Mauritania |
| Mr. | Fathalla, Ahmed Amin (Egypt) | Egypt |
| Mr. | Jalloh, Charles C. (Sierra Leone) | Sierra Leone, Chile, New Zealand |
| Mr. | Laraba, Ahmed (Algeria) | Algeria |
| Mr. | Mashamba, Clement Julius (United Republic of Tanzania) | United Republic of Tanzania |
| Mr. | Mingashang, Ivon (Democratic Republic of the Congo) | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Ms. | Okowa, Phoebe (Kenya) | Kenya, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
| Mr. | Ouazzani Chahdi, Hassan (Morocco) | Morocco |
| Mr. | Sall, Alioune (Senegal) | Senegal |
| Mr. | Savadogo, Louis (Burkina Faso) | Burkina Faso |
| Mr. | Tungo, Muaz Ahmed Mohamed (Sudan) | Sudan |
*The Government of Mauritania withdrew the candidature of Mr. Mohamed Yeslem Mohamed Lemine (on 29 June 2021).
**The Government of Zambia withdrew the candidature of Mr. Likando Kalaluka (on 27 October 2021).
Asia-Pacific States (8 seats)
| Candidates (Nationality) | Nominated by | |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. | Asada, Masahiko (Japan) | Japan, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
| Mr. | Huang, Huikang (China) | China |
| Mr. | Lee, Keun-Gwan (Republic of Korea) | Republic of Korea |
| Ms. | Mangklatanakul, Vilawan (Thailand) | Thailand |
| Mr. | Mavroyiannis, Andreas D. (Cyprus) | Cyprus |
| Mr. | Nguyen, Hong Thao (Viet Nam) | Viet Nam |
| Mr. | Patel, Bimal N. (India) | India |
| Mr. | Pieris, Mohan (Sri Lanka) | Sri Lanka |
| Mr. | Roque, Herminio Harry L. (Philippines) | Philippines |
| Mr. | Tsend, Munkh-Orgil (Mongolia) | Mongolia |
| Mr. | Ziadé, Nassib G. (Lebanon) [additional information] | Lebanon, Bahrain |
*The Government of Uzbekistan withdrew the candidature of Mr. Mirvokhid Azimov (on 16 April 2021).
Eastern European States (3 seats)
| Candidates (Nationality) | Nominated by | |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. | Aurescu, Bogdan (Romania) | Romania |
| Mr. | Kocharyan, Vigen (Armenia) | Armenia |
| Mr. | Paparinskis, Mārtinš (Latvia) | Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania |
| Mr. | Šturma, Pavel (Czech Republic) | Czech Republic |
| Ms. | Varga, Réka (Hungary) | Hungary |
| Mr. | Zagaynov, Evgeny (Russian Federation) | Russian Federation |
| Mr. | Zarbiyev, Fuad (Azerbaijan) | Azerbaijan |
Latin American and Caribbean States (6 seats)
| Candidates (Nationality) | Nominated by | |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. | Abreu Bonilla, Sergio (Uruguay) | Uruguay |
| Mr. | Argüello Gómez, Carlos José (Nicaragua) | Nicaragua |
| Mr. | Galindo, George Rodrigo Bandeira (Brazil) | Brazil |
| Mr. | Grossman Guiloff, Claudio (Chile) | Chile, Sierra Leone |
| Mr. | Oyarzábal, Mario (Argentina) | Argentina |
| Mr. | Ruda Santolaria, Juan José (Peru) | Peru |
| Mr. | Vázquez-Bermúdez, Marcelo (Ecuador) | Ecuador |
Western European and other States (8 seats)
| Candidates (Nationality) | Nominated by | |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. | Akande, Dapo (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Nigeria, Slovenia, Kenya, Japan |
| Ms. | Aswad, Evelyn (United States of America) | United States of America |
| Mr. | Becker, Tal (Israel) | Israel |
| Ms. | Escobar Hernández, Concepción (Spain) | Spain |
| Mr. | Fife, Rolf Einar (Norway) | Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland |
| Mr. | Forteau, Mathias (France) | France |
| Ms. | Galvão Teles, Patrícia (Portugal) | Portugal |
| Mr. | Nesi, Giuseppe (Italy) | Italy |
| Ms. | Oral, Nilüfer (Turkey) | Turkey |
| Mr. | Reinisch, August (Austria) | Austria |
| Ms. | Ridings, Penelope (New Zealand) | New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Sierra Leone |