International Law Commission International Law Commission

Last update: August 4, 2023

2021 election links

Membership

2021 Election of the International Law Commission

The term of office of the thirty-four members of the International Law Commission for the 2017-2021 (extended to 2022) quinquennium 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 (until 31 December 2027) took place, by secret ballot, at the 32nd meeting of the General Assembly at its seventy-sixth session, held on 12 November 2021.

The Statute of the International Law Commission, as adopted by the General Assembly in resolution 174 (II) of 21 November 1947 and as thereafter amended, provides in article 2 that the International Law Commission shall consist of thirty four 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.

Each State Member of the United Nations could nominate not more than four candidates, of whom two could be nationals of the nominating State and two nationals of other States (articles 3, 4 and 7). Members of the Commission are elected for five years and are eligible for re-election (article 10).

The thirty-four members of the International Law Commission were elected according to the pattern set up in paragraph 3 of resolution 36/39 of 18 November 1981. Thus, the allocation of seats on the Commission for the five-year term beginning on 1 January 2023 will be as follows:

Election results arranged by regional group

African States (9 seats)

Candidates (Nationality) Nominated by No of votes Outcome
Mr. Jalloh, Charles C. (Sierra Leone) Sierra Leone, Chile, New Zealand 169 Elected
Mr. Sall, Alioune (Senegal) Senegal 165 Elected
Ms. Okowa, Phoebe (Kenya) Kenya, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 162 Elected
Mr. Cissé, Yacouba (Côte d’Ivoire) Côte d’Ivoire 160 Elected
Mr. Fathalla, Ahmed Amin (Egypt) Egypt 159 Elected
Mr. Ouazzani Chahdi, Hassan (Morocco) Morocco 151 Elected
Mr. Laraba, Ahmed (Algeria) Algeria 136 Elected
Mr. Savadogo, Louis (Burkina Faso) Burkina Faso 131 Elected
Mr. Mingashang, Ivon (Democratic Republic of the Congo) Democratic Republic of the Congo 121 Elected
Mr. Fall, Aly (Mauritania) Mauritania 114 Not elected
Mr. Mashamba, Clement Julius (United Republic of Tanzania) United Republic of Tanzania 112 Not elected
Mr. Tungo, Muaz Ahmed Mohamed (Sudan) Sudan 82 Not elected
Mr. Kalaluka, Likando (Zambia) Zambia –*  
Mr. Mohamed Lemine, Mohamed Yeslem (Mauritania) Mauritania –*  

Asia-Pacific States (8 seats)

Candidates (Nationality) Nominated by No of votes Outcome
Mr. Patel, Bimal N. (India) India 163 Elected
Ms. Mangklatanakul, Vilawan (Thailand) Thailand 162 Elected
Mr. Asada, Masahiko (Japan) Japan, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 154 Elected
Mr. Nguyen, Hong Thao (Viet Nam) Viet Nam 145 Elected
Mr. Huang, Huikang (China) China 142 Elected
Mr. Lee, Keun-Gwan (Republic of Korea) Republic of Korea 140 Elected
Mr. Mavroyiannis, Andreas D. (Cyprus) Cyprus 139 Elected
Mr. Tsend, Munkh-Orgil (Mongolia) Mongolia 123 Elected
Mr. Ziadé, Nassib G. (Lebanon) Lebanon, Bahrain 119 Not elected
Mr. Pieris, Mohan (Sri Lanka) Sri Lanka 112 Not elected
Mr. Roque, Herminio Harry L. (Philippines) Philippines 87 Not elected
Mr. Azimov, Mirvokhid (Uzbekistan) Uzbekistan –*  

Eastern European States (3 seats)

Candidates (Nationality) Nominated by No of votes Outcome
Mr. Zagaynov, Evgeny (Russian Federation) Russian Federation 114 Elected
Mr. Aurescu, Bogdan (Romania) Romania 107 Elected
Mr. Paparinskis, Mārtiņš (Latvia) Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania 103 Elected
Ms. Varga, Réka (Hungary) Hungary 89 Not elected
Mr. Zarbiyev, Fuad (Azerbaijan) Azerbaijan 72 Not elected
Mr. Šturma, Pavel (Czech Republic) Czech Republic 49 Not elected
Mr. Kocharyan, Vigen (Armenia) Armenia 33 Not elected

Latin American and Caribbean States (6 seats)

Candidates (Nationality) Nominated by No of votes Outcome
Mr. Grossman Guiloff, Claudio (Chile) Chile, Sierra Leone 174 Elected
Mr. Vázquez-Bermúdez, Marcelo (Ecuador) Ecuador 168 Elected
Mr. Galindo, George Rodrigo Bandeira (Brazil) Brazil 166 Elected
Mr. Oyarzábal, Mario (Argentina) Argentina 155 Elected
Mr. Ruda Santolaria, Juan José (Peru) Peru 153 Elected
Mr. Argüello Gómez, Carlos José (Nicaragua) Nicaragua 145 Elected
Mr. Abreu Bonilla, Sergio (Uruguay) Uruguay 140 Not elected

Western European and other States (8 seats)

Candidates (Nationality) Nominated by No of votes Outcome
Mr. Fife, Rolf Einar (Norway) Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland 154 Elected
Ms. Galvão Teles, Patrícia (Portugal) Portugal 154 Elected
Mr. Nesi, Giuseppe (Italy) Italy 152 Elected
Mr. Akande, Dapo (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Nigeria, Slovenia, Kenya, Japan 150 Elected
Mr. Reinisch, August (Austria) Austria 149 Elected
Ms. Ridings, Penelope (New Zealand) New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Sierra Leone 131 Elected
Mr. Forteau, Mathias (France) France 130 Elected
Ms. Oral, Nilüfer (Turkey) Turkey 124 Elected
Ms. Escobar Hernández, Concepción (Spain) Spain 122 Not elected
Ms. Aswad, Evelyn (United States of America) United States of America 114 Not elected
Mr. Becker, Tal (Israel) Israel 104 Not elected

* Withdrew prior to election