International Law Commission

MONDAY, 27 April 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3729th meeting  (A/CN.4/SR.3729)

Audio:

• Opening of the Session
  • Mr. Mārtiņš Paparinskis (Latvia), Chair of the seventy-sixth session, opened the seventy-seventh session.
• Minute of silence
  • A minute of silence was observed in memory of Ms. Concepción Escobar Hernández, Mr. Julio Barboza and Mr. Stephen Schwebel.
• Election of officers
  • The Commission elected Mr. Andreas D. Mavroyannis (Cyprus) as Chair; Mr. Alioune Sall (Senegal) as First Vice-Chair; Ms. Alina Orosan (Romania) as Second Vice-Chair; Mr. Rolf Einar Fife (Norway) to be Chair of the Drafting Committee; and Mr. Claudio Grossman Guiloff (Chile) as Rapporteur.
• Programme of work
  • The Commission adopted its agenda (A/CN.4/787).
• Establishment of working groups of the whole
  • The Commission established the following two Working Groups of the Whole:
    • The Working Group on Succession of States in respect of State responsibility, to be chaired by Mr. Bimal Patel; and
    • The Working Group on Subsidiary means for the determination of rules of international law, to be chaired by the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Charles Chernor Jalloh
• General principles of law
  • The Commission reverted to the report of the Drafting Committee on “General principles of law” (A/CN.4/L.1018), presented by the Chair of the Drafting Committee at the seventy-sixth session, and adopted the text and titles of the following draft conclusions and the title on second reading: 1 (Scope/Champ d’application), 2 (Recognition/Reconnaissance), 3 (Categories of general principles of law/Catégories de principes généraux du droit), 4 (Identification of general principles of law derived from national legal systems/Détermination des principes généraux du droit provenant des systèmes juridiques nationaux), 5 (Determination of the existence of a principle common to the various legal systems of the world/Détermination de l’existence d’un principe commun aux différents systèmes juridique du monde), 6 (Transposition to the international legal system/Transposition dans le système juridique international), 7 (Identification of general principles of law formed within the international legal system/ Détermination des principes généraux du droit formés dans le cadre du système juridique international), 8 (Decisions of courts and tribunals/Décisions de juridictions), 9 (Teachings/ Doctrine), 10 (Functions of general principles of law/Fonctions des principes généraux du droit), 11 (Relationship between general principles of law and treaties and customary international law/ Relations entre les principes généraux du droit et les traités et le droit international coutumier) and 12 (General principles of law with a limited scope of application/ Principes généraux du droit ayant un champ d’application limité).
  • Statements were made by Mr. Patel (in connection with draft conclusion 3) and Mr. Forteau.
• Subsidiary means for the determination of rules of international law
  • The Commission reverted to the report of the Drafting Committee on “Subsidiary means for the determination of rules of international law” (A/CN.4/L.1019), presented by the Chair of the Drafting Committee at the seventy-sixth session, and adopted the text and titles of the following draft conclusions, titles of parts and the title on first reading: 1 (Scope/Objet), 2 (Categories of subsidiary means for the determination of rules of international law/Catégories de moyens auxiliaires de détermination des règles de droit international), 3 [6] (Nature and function of subsidiary means/Nature et fonction des moyens auxiliaires), 4 [3] (General criteria for the assessment of subsidiary means for the determination of rules of international law/ Critères généraux d’appréciation des moyens auxiliaires de détermination des règles de droit international), 5 [4] (Decisions of courts and tribunals/Décisions de juridictions), 6 [7] (Absence of legally binding precedent in international law/Absence de précédents juridiquement contraignants en droit international), 7 [8] (Weight of decisions of courts and tribunals/Poids des décisions des juridictions), 8 [5] (Teachings/Doctrine), 9 (Weight of teachings/Poids de la doctrine), 10 [9 and 10] (Expert bodies/Organes d’experts), 11 [9 and 10] (Weight of the works of expert bodies/Poids des travaux des organes d’experts), 12 [11] (Resolutions and other texts produced by international organisations or at intergovernmental conferences/Résolutions et autres textes élaborés par des organisations internationales ou dans le cadre de conférences intergouvernementales), and 13 [11] (Weight of resolutions and other texts produced by international organisations or at intergovernmental conferences/ Poids des résolutions et autres textes élaborés par des organisations internationales ou dans le cadre de conférences intergouvernementales).
  • Statements were made by Mr. Mingashang and Mr. Forteau.
• Immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction
  • The Commission reverted to the report of the Drafting Committee on “Immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction” (A/CN.4/L.1017), presented by the Chair of the Drafting Committee at the seventy-sixth session.
  • Statements were made by Mr. Patel, Mr. Fathalla, Mr. Zagaynov, Mr. Arguello Gomez, Mr. Ma and Mr. Grossman.
• Programme, procedures, working methods of the Commission and its documentation
  • The Chair of the Drafting Committee, Mr. Rolf Einar Fife, announced the composition of the Drafting Committee on “Immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction”, which is as follows: Chair: Mr. Rolf Einar Fife; Special Rapporteur: Mr. Claudio Grossman Guiloff; Members: Mr. Dapo Akande, Mr.Carlos J. Argüello Gómez, Mr. Mathias Forteau, Mr. George Rodrigo Bandeira Galindo, Mr. Charles Chernor Jalloh, Mr. Keun-Gwan Lee, Mr. Xinmin Ma, Ms. Vilawan Mangklatanakul, Mr. Giuseppe Nesi, Ms. Alina Orosan, Mr. Mario Oyarzàbal, Mr. Mārtinš Paparinskis, Mr. Bimal N. Patel, Mr. August Reinisch, Ms. Penelope Ridings, Mr. Juan José Ruda Santolaria, Mr. Evgeny Zagaynov.

TUESDAY, 28 April 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3730th meeting (A/CN.4/SR.3730)

Audio:

• Immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction
  • The Commission continued its consideration of the report of the Drafting Committee on “Immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction” (A/CN.4/L.1017), presented by the Chair of the Drafting Committee at the seventy-sixth session, and provisionally adopted the text and titles of the following draft articles, on second reading: 7 (Crimes under international law in respect of which immunity ratione materiae shall not apply/Crimes de droit international à l’égard desquels l’immunité ratione materiae ne s’applique pas) which was adopted by a recorded vote,  8 (Application of Part Four/Application de la quatrième partie), and 9 (Examination of immunity by the forum State/Examen de la question de l’immunité par l’État du for).
  • The Commission further decided to refer draft articles 1, 3, 4, 5 [6], 7, 8 and 9 back to the Drafting Committee for the sole purpose of finalizing the complete set of draft articles on Immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction, to be adopted on second reading.

WEDNESDAY, 29 April 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3731st meeting

Audio:

• Establishment of working groups of the whole
  • The Commission established the Working Group on Immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction, to be chaired by the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Claudio Grossman Guiloff.
• Settlement of Disputes to which International Organizations are Parties
  • The Special Rapporteur, Mr. August Reinisch, introduced his third report on the topic “Settlement of Disputes to which International Organizations are Parties” (A/CN.4/782 + Add.1). The Commission began its consideration of the Special Rapporteur’s third report on the topic.
• Programme, procedures, working methods of the Commission and its documentation
  • The Chair of the Planning Group, Mr. Alioune Sall, announced the composition of the Planning Group, which is as follows: Chair: Mr. Alioune Sall; Members: Mr. Rolf Einar Fife, Mr. Mathias Forteau, Mr. George Rodrigo Bandeira Galindo, Mr. Charles Chernor Jalloh, Mr. Keun-Gwan Lee, Mr. Xinmin Ma, Ms. Vilawan Mangklatanakul, Mr. Yvon Mingashang, Mr. Giuseppe Nesi, Ms. Alina Orosan, Mr. Hassan Ouazzani Chahdi, Mr. Mario Oyarzábal, Mr. Mārtinš Paparinskis, Mr. Bimal N. Patel, Mr. August Reinisch, Ms. Penelope Ridings, Mr. Louis Savadogo, Mr. Marcelo Vázquez-Bermúdez, Mr. Evgeny Zagaynov and Mr. Claudio Grossman Guiloff (ex officio).

THURSDAY, 30 April 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3732nd meeting (A/CN.4/SR.3732)

Audio:

• Settlement of Disputes to which International Organizations are Parties
  • The Commission continued its consideration of the Special Rapporteur’s third report on the topic (A/CN.4/782 + Add.1).

FRIDAY, 1 May 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3733rd meeting  (A/CN.4/SR.3733)

Audio:

• Visit of the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel
  • The Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, Ms. Elinor Hammarskjöld, made a statement informing the Commission of the activities of the Office of Legal Affairs and recent developments in international law in the context of the United Nations. An exchange of views was held.
• Settlement of Disputes to which International Organizations are Parties
  • The Commission continued its consideration of the Special Rapporteur’s third report on the topic (A/CN.4/782 + Add.1).

TUESDAY, 5 May 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3734th meeting

Audio:

• Filling of a casual vacancy in the Commission
  • The Commission elected Mr. Olufemi Elias (Nigeria) to fill the casual vacancy in its membership that arose following the resignation of Ms. Phoebe Okowa.
• Settlement of Disputes to which International Organizations are Parties
  • The Commission continued its consideration of the Special Rapporteur’s third report on the topic (A/CN.4/782 + Add.1).

WEDNESDAY, 6 May 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3735th meeting  (A/CN.4/SR.3735)

Audio:

• Settlement of Disputes to which International Organizations are Parties
  • The Special Rapporteur summed up the debate. The Commission referred draft guidelines 7 to 11, as recommended by the Special Rapporteur, to the Drafting Committee. The Commission further referred draft guidelines 1 to 6 back to the Drafting Committee for the sole purpose of finalizing the draft guidelines on settlement of disputes to which international organizations are parties, to be adopted on first reading.
• Programme, procedures, working methods of the Commission and its documentation
  • The Chair of the Drafting Committee, Mr. Rolf Einar Fife, announced the composition of the Drafting Committee on “Settlement of disputes to which International Organizations are parties”, which is as follows: Chair: Mr. Rolf Einar Fife; Special Rapporteur: Mr. August Reinisch; Members: Mr Ahmed Amin Fathalla, Mr. Keun-Gwan Lee, Mr. Xinmin Ma, Ms. Vilawan Mangklatanakul, Mr. Giuseppe Nesi, Ms. Alina Orosan, Mr. Mario Oyarzabal, Mr. Mārtinš Paparinskis, Mr. Bimal N. Patel, Mr. Juan José Ruda Santolaria, Mr. Alioune Sall, Mr. Louis Savadogo, Mr. Munkh-Orgil Tsend, Mr. Evgeny Zagaynov and Mr. Claudio Grossman Guiloff (ex officio).
• Non-legally binding international agreements
  • The Special Rapporteur, Mr. Mathias Forteau, introduced his second and third reports on the topic “Non-legally binding international agreements” (A/CN.4/784 and A/CN.4/790). The Commission commenced its consideration of both reports.

THURSDAY, 7 May 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3736th meeting

Audio:

• Non-legally binding international agreements
  • The Commission continued its consideration of the Special Rapporteur’s second and third reports on the topic (A/CN.4/784 and A/CN.4/790).

FRIDAY, 8 May 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3737th meeting  (A/CN.4/SR.3737)

Audio:

• Non-legally binding international agreements
  • The Commission continued its consideration of the Special Rapporteur’s second and third reports on the topic (A/CN.4/784 and A/CN.4/790).

TUESDAY, 12 May 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3738th meeting

Audio:

• Non-legally binding international agreements
  • The Commission continued its consideration of the Special Rapporteur’s second and third reports on the topic (A/CN.4/784 and A/CN.4/790).

WEDNESDAY, 13 May 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3739th meeting

Audio:

• Commemoration
  • Statements were made in memory of former members Ms. Concepción Escobar Hernández, Mr. Julio Barboza and Judge Stephen Schwebel.
• Non-legally binding international agreements
  • The Commission continued its consideration of the Special Rapporteur’s second and third reports on the topic (A/CN.4/784 and A/CN.4/790).

THURSDAY, 14 May 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3740th meeting

Audio:

• Non-legally binding international agreements
  • The Commission continued its consideration of the Special Rapporteur’s second and third reports on the topic (A/CN.4/784 and A/CN.4/790).

FRIDAY, 15 May 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3741st meeting

Audio:

• Visit of the President of the International Court of Justice
  • The President of the International Court of Justice, H.E. Judge Yuji Iwasawa, addressed the Commission.  An exchange of views followed.
• Immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction
  • The Chair of the Drafting Committee presented the report of the Drafting Committee on “Immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction” (A/CN.4/L.1034). The Commission considered the report and approved the proposed revisions to the following draft articles previously provisionally adopted by the Commission: 1 (Scope of the present draft articles/ Champ d’application du présent projet d’articles), 2 (Definitions/ Définitions), 3 (Persons enjoying immunity ratione personae/Bénéficiaires de l’immunité ratione personae), 4 (Scope of immunity ratione personae/Portée de l’immunité ratione personae), 5 (Scope of immunity ratione materiae/Portée de l’immunité ratione materiae), 6 (Crimes under international law in respect of which immunity ratione materiae shall not apply/Crimes de droit international à l’égard desquels l’immunité ratione materiae ne s’applique pas), 7 (Application of the present Part/Application de la présente partie). The Commission further adopted the text of the following draft articles and the title on second reading: 8 (Examination of immunity by the forum State/Examen de la question de l’immunité par l’État du for), 9 (Notification to the State of the official/ Notification à l’État du representant), 10 (Invocation of immunity/Invocation de l’immunité), 11 (Waiver of immunity/Renonciation à l’immunité), 12 (Requests for information/Demandes d’informations), 13 (Determination of immunity/Détermination de l’immunité), 14 (Transfer of the criminal proceedings/Transfert des poursuites pénales), 15 (Fair treatment of the State official/Traitement équitable du représentant de l’État), 16 (Consultations/ Consultations) and 17 (Settlement of disputes/Règlement des différends).

TUESDAY, 19 May 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3742nd meeting

Audio:

• Programme of work
  • The Commission approved its programme of work for the second part of its session.
• Non-legally binding international agreements
  • The Commission continued its consideration of the Special Rapporteur’s second and third reports on the topic (A/CN.4/784 and A/CN.4/790). The Special Rapporteur summed up the debate. The Commission referred draft conclusions 1 to 6, as recommended by the Special Rapporteur, to the Drafting Committee.
• Programme, procedures, working methods of the Commission and its documentation
  • The Chair of the Drafting Committee, Mr. Rolf Einar Fife, announced the composition of the Drafting Committee on “Non-legally binding international agreements”, which is as follows: Chair: Mr. Rolf Einar Fife; Special Rapporteur: Mr. Mathias Forteau; Members: Mr. Dapo Akande; Mr. Carlos J. Arguello Gomez; Mr. George Rodrigo Bandeira Galindo; Mr. Charles Chernor Jalloh; Mr. Xinmin Ma; Ms. Vilawan Mangklatanakul; Mr. Ivon Mingashang; Mr. Giuseppe Nesi; Ms. Nilufer Oral; Ms. Alina Orosan; Mr. Mario Oyarzabal; Mr. Martins Paparinskis; Mr. Bimal N. Patel; Ms. Penelope Ridings; Mr. Juan José Ruda Santolaria; Mr. Alioune Sall; Mr. Louis Savadogo; Mr. Munkh-Orgil Tsend; Mr. Evgeny Zagaynov; Mr. Claudio Grossman Guiloff (ex officio).
• Prevention and repression of piracy and armed robbery at sea
  • The Special Rapporteur, Mr. Louis Savadogo, introduced his first report on the topic “Prevention and repression of piracy and armed robbery at sea” (A/CN.4/791 and Corr.1).

WEDNESDAY, 20 May 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3743rd meeting

Audio:

• Establishment of working groups of the whole
  • The Commission established the Working Group on Cooperation with Regional Bodies, to be chaired by the Chair of the Commission.
• Prevention and repression of piracy and armed robbery at sea
  • The Commission commenced its consideration of the Special Rapporteur’s first report on the topic (A/CN.4/791 and Corr.1).

THURSDAY, 21 May 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3744th meeting

Audio:

• Prevention and repression of piracy and armed robbery at sea
  • The Commission continued its consideration of the Special Rapporteur’s first report on the topic (A/CN.4/791 and Corr.1).

FRIDAY, 22 May 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3745th meeting

Audio:

• Prevention and repression of piracy and armed robbery at sea
  • The Commission continued its consideration of the Special Rapporteur’s first report on the topic (A/CN.4/791 and Corr.1).

WEDNESDAY, 27 May 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3746th meeting

Audio:

• Prevention and repression of piracy and armed robbery at sea
  • The Commission continued its consideration of the Special Rapporteur’s first report on the topic (A/CN.4/791 and Corr.1).

THURSDAY, 28 May 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3747th meeting

Audio:

• Prevention and repression of piracy and armed robbery at sea
  • The Commission continued its consideration of the Special Rapporteur’s first report on the topic (A/CN.4/791 and Corr.1).

FRIDAY, 29 May 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3748th meeting

Audio:

• Settlement of Disputes to which International Organizations are Parties
  • The Chair of the Drafting Committee presented the report of the Drafting Committee on “Settlement of Disputes to which International Organizations are Parties” (A/CN.4/L.1035). The Commission considered the report and approved the proposed revisions to the following draft guidelines previously provisionally adopted by the Commission: draft guidelines 2 (Use of terms/Emploi des termes), 3 (Scope of the present Part/Objet de la présente partie), 4 (Resort to means of dispute settlement/Recours aux moyens de règlement des différends) and 5 (Accessibility of means of dispute settlement/Caractère accessible des moyens de règlement des différends). The Commission further adopted the text of the following draft guidelines and the titles of parts and of the draft guidelines on first reading: 6 (Requirements for arbitration and judicial settlement/ Exigences relatives au règlement juridictionnel), 7 (Scope of the present Part/Objet de la présente partie), 8 (Resort to means of dispute settlement/ Recours aux moyens de règlement des différends), 9 (Immunity of international organizations/Immunité des organisations internationales), 10 (Immunity and dispute settlement/Immunité et règlement des différends), 11 (Access to justice/Accès à la justice) and 12 (Requirements for means of dispute settlement of an adjudicatory character/ Exigences relatives aux moyens juridictionnels de règlement des différends).
• Prevention and repression of piracy and armed robbery at sea
  • The Special Rapporteur summed up the debate on the first report on the topic (A/CN.4/791 and Corr.1). The Commission referred draft articles 5 to 14, as recommended by the Special Rapporteur, to the Drafting Committee.
• Programme, procedures, working methods of the Commission and its documentation
  • The Chair of the Drafting Committee, Mr. Rolf Einar Fife, announced the composition of the Drafting Committee on “Prevention and repression of piracy and armed robbery at sea”, which is as follows: Chair: Mr. Rolf Einar Fife; Special Rapporteur: Mr. Louis Savadogo; Members: Mr Carlos J. Arguello Gomez, Mr. Olufemi Elias, Mr. Ahmed Amin Fathalla, Mr. Keun-Gwan Lee, Mr. Xinmin Ma, Ms. Vilawan Mangklatanakul, Mr. Ivon Mingashang, Ms. Nilufer Oral, Ms. Alina Orosan, Mr. Hassan Ouazzani Chadhi, Mr. Mario Oyarzabal, Mr. Martins Paparinskis, Mr. Bimal N. Patel, Ms. Penelope Ridings, Mr. Juan José Ruda Santolaria, Mr. Alioune Sall, and Mr. Claudio Grossman Guiloff (ex officio).

FRIDAY, 5 June 2026
Seventy-seventh session
United Nations Office at Geneva
3749th meeting

Audio:

• Non-legally binding international agreements
  • The Chair of the Drafting Committee presented the report of the Drafting Committee on “Non-legally binding international agreements” (A/CN.4/L.1036). The Commission considered the report and provisionally adopted the title of part one (Introduction/ Introduction) and the texts and titles of the following draft conclusions: 1 (Scope and purpose/ Objet), 2 [4] (Rules or procedures followed by States and international organizations/ Règles ou procédures suivies par les États et les organisations internationales), 3 [2, 3] (Use of terms/ Emploi des termes), 4 [5] (Assessment of whether an international agreement is legally binding or not/ Évaluation du caractère juridiquement contraignant ou non d’un accord international), and 5 [6] (Express indication of intention/Indication expresse de l’intention).
• Establishment of working groups of the whole
  • The Commission established the Working Group on General Principles of Law, to be chaired by the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Marcelo Vazquez Bermudez.