International Law Commission International Law Commission

Last update: February 15, 2024

Current status of the work of the Commission and forthcoming deadlines *

Forthcoming deadlines for comments from Governments and relevant international organizations

  • 1 December 2023 — Immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction: information requested in Chap. VI of A/77/10
  • 1 December 2023 — Prevention and repression of piracy and armed robbery at sea in Chap. III.A  of A/78/10
  • 1 December 2023 — Sea-level rise in relation to international law in Chap. III.C of A/78/10
  • 1 February 2024 — Subsidiary means for the determination of rules of international law in Chap. III.B of A/78/10
  • 1 December 2024 — General principles of law in Chap. IV of A/78/10

Drafting Committee

The following draft articles are presently before the Drafting Committee:

  • Succession of States in respect of State responsibility proposal by the Special Rapporteur for draft guideline 15 ter

With regard to topics on the programme of work of the Commission, the following draft articles/conclusions/guidelines have been adopted by the Commission on the basis of reports of the Drafting Committee:

  • Immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction
  • Succession of States in respect of State responsibility
  • General principles of law
    • 2019: draft conclusion 1; See Drafting Committee Chair’s interim oral report
    • 2021: draft conclusions 1, 2 and 4 (A/CN.4/L.955) and 5 (A/CN.4/L.955/Add.1 and Add.1/Corr.1 (Spanish only)); See Drafting Committee Chair’s statement
    • 2022: Consolidated text of draft conclusions 1 to 11 (A/CN.4/L.971); See Drafting Committee Chair’s statement
    • 2023: Draft conclusions 1 to 11 on general principles of law (A/CN.4/L.982); See: Drafting Committee Chair's statement
  • Settlement of disputes to which international organizations are parties
  • Prevention and repression of piracy and armed robbery at sea
  • Subsidiary means for the determination of rules of international law

Working and Study Groups

  • Study Group on Sea-level Rise in relation to International Law
    • 2019: See ILC Report, A/74/10, 2019, chap. X, paras. 263–273
    • 2021: See ILC Report, A/76/10, 2021, chap. IX, paras. 240–296
    • 2022: See ILC Report, A/77/10, 2022, chap. IX, paras. 150–237
    • 2023: See ILC Report, A/78/10, 2023, chap. VIII, paras. 128–230
  • Working Group on Succession of States in respect of State responsibility
    • 2023: See ILC Report, A/78/10, 2023, chap. IX, paras. 231–246

Long-term programme of work

The following topics are presently on the long-term programme of work:

  • Ownership and protection of wrecks beyond the limits of national maritime jurisdiction (1996 report, add.2)
  • Jurisdictional immunity of international organizations (2006 report, annex B)
  • Protection of personal data in transborder flow of information (2006 report, annex D)
  • Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (2006 report, annex E)
  • The fair and equitable treatment standard in international investment law (2011 report, annex D)
  • Evidence before international courts and tribunals (2017 report, annex B)
  • Universal criminal jurisdiction (2018 report, annex A)
  • Reparation to individuals for gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law (2019 report, annex B)

The Commission recently concluded its work on the following topics:

Protection of the environment in relation to armed conflict (Summary | Analytical Guide)

At its sixty-fifth session, in 2013, the Commission decided to include the topic in its programme of work, and appointed Ms. Marie G. Jacobsson as Special Rapporteur. The Commission received and considered three reports from its sixty-sixth session (2014) to its sixty-eighth session (2016). At its sixty-ninth session (2017), the Commission established a Working Group to consider the way forward in relation to the topic, as Ms. Jacobsson was no longer a member of the Commission. The Working Group recommended to the Commission the appointment of a new Special Rapporteur to assist with the successful completion of its work on the topic. The Commission decided to appoint Ms. Marja Lehto as Special Rapporteur. The Commission subsequently proceeded on the basis of two reports prepared by the Special Rapporteur.

At its seventy-third session, in 2022, the Commission proceeded on the basis of the third report of the Special Rapporteur (A/CN.4/750 and Corr.1 and Add.1). The Commission adopted, on second reading, the entire set of draft principles on protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts, comprising a draft preamble and 27 draft principles, together with commentaries thereto. The Commission decided, in accordance with article 23 of its statute, to recommend that the General Assembly: (a) take note of the draft principles, annex them to its resolution and encourage their widest possible dissemination; and (b) commend the draft principles, together with the commentaries thereto, to the attention of States and international organizations and all who may be called upon to deal with the subject (chap. V of the 2022 ILC report).

Peremptory norms of general international law (jus cogens) (Summary | Analytical Guide)

At its sixty-seventh session, in 2015, the Commission decided to include the topic in its programme of work, and to appoint Mr. Dire D. Tladi as Special Rapporteur for the topic.

The Commission subsequently proceeded on the basis of five reports of the Special Rapporteur. At its sixty-ninth session (2017), the Commission decided to change the title of the topic from “Jus cogens” to “Peremptory norms of general international law (jus cogens)”.

At its seventy-third  session, in 2022, the Commission adopted, on second reading, the entire set of draft conclusions on identification and legal consequences of peremptory norms of general international law (jus cogens), comprising 23 draft conclusions and an annex, together with commentaries thereto. The Commission decided, in accordance with article 23 of its statute, to recommend the draft conclusions to the General Assembly. In particular, the Commission recommended that the Assembly take note of the draft conclusions and commend them, together with the commentaries thereto, to the attention of States and all who may be called upon to identify peremptory norms of general international law (jus cogens) and to apply their legal consequences (chap. IV of the 2022 ILC report).

The following topics are on the programme of work of the Commission:

Immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction (Summary | Analytical Guide)

The Commission commenced its consideration of the topic in 2008, and has considered three reports by the former Special Rapporteur, Mr. Roman Kolodkin, as well as a memorandum prepared by the Secretariat, as well as eight reports by Ms. Concepción Escobar Hernández, who was appointed as Special Rapporteur in 2012 to replace Mr. Roman Kolodkin.

At its seventy-third  session, in 2022, the Commission adopted, on first reading, 18 draft articles and a draft annex on immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction, together with commentaries thereto. The Commission decided, in accordance with articles 16 to 21 of its statute, to transmit the draft articles, through the Secretary-General, to Governments for comments and observations, with the request that such comments and observations be submitted to the Secretary-General by 1 December 2023 (chap. VI of the 2022 ILC report).

Succession of States in respect of State responsibility (Summary | Analytical Guide)

At its sixty-ninth session, in 2017, the Commission decided to include the topic in its programme of work, and to appoint Mr. Pavel Šturma as Special Rapporteur.

At the same session, the Commission had before it the first report of the Special Rapporteur (A/CN.4/708), which sought to set out the Special Rapporteur’s approach to the scope and outcome of the topic, and to provide an overview of general provisions relating to the topic. Following the debate in plenary, the Commission decided to refer draft articles 1 to 4, as contained in the report of the Special Rapporteur, to the Drafting Committee. The Commission subsequently took note of the interim report of the Chair of the Drafting Committee on draft articles 1 and 2 provisionally adopted by the Committee, which was submitted to the Commission for information (chap. IX of the 2017 report).

At its seventieth session, in 2018, the Commission had before it the second report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Pavel Šturma (A/CN.4/719). The report provided an outline of general approach (methodology) to the topic. It further discussed the legality of succession, and reviewed the general rules on succession of States in respect of State responsibility, particularly in relation to attribution and in relation to the difference between continuing and completed breaches. The report also discussed cases of succession where the predecessor State continued to exist and cases of succession where the predecessor State did not exist. The Commission decided to refer draft articles 5 to 11, as contained in the report of the Special Rapporteur, to the Drafting Committee. The Commission subsequently took note of the interim report of the Chair of the Drafting Committee on draft article 1, paragraph 2, and draft articles 5 and 6 provisionally adopted by the Committee, which was presented to the Commission for information only. (chap. X of the 2018 report)

At its seventy-first session, in 2019, the Commission had before it the third report of the Special Rapporteur (A/CN.4/731), which addressed introductory issues, including certain general considerations, questions of reparation for injury resulting from internationally wrongful acts committed against the predecessor State as well as its nationals, and technical proposals in relation to the scheme of the draft articles. Following the debate in plenary, the Commission decided to refer draft articles 2, paragraph (f), X, Y, 12, 13, 14 and 15, and the titles of Part Two and Part Three, as contained in the third report of the Special Rapporteur, to the Drafting Committee. Upon its consideration of a first report of the Drafting Committee, the Commission provisionally adopted draft articles 1, 2 and 5, with commentaries thereto. Furthermore, the Commission took note of the interim report of the Chair of the Drafting Committee on draft articles 7, 8 and 9 provisionally adopted by the Committee, which was presented to the Commission for information only (chap. VII of the 2019 report).

At its seventy-second session, in 2021, the Commission had before it the fourth report of the Special Rapporteur (A/CN.4/743 + Corr.1), which addressed questions related to the impact of succession of States on forms of responsibility, in particular the different forms of reparation, the obligation of cessation and assurances and guarantees of non-repetition. Following the debate in plenary, the Commission decided to refer draft articles 7 bis, 16, 17, 18 and 19, as contained in the fourth report of the Special Rapporteur, to the Drafting Committee, taking into account the comments made in plenary. The Commission provisionally adopted draft articles 7, 8 and 9, which had been provisionally adopted by the Drafting Committee at the seventy-first session, together with commentaries thereto. Furthermore, the Commission took note of the interim report of the Chair of the Drafting Committee on draft articles 10, 10 bis and 11, provisionally adopted by the Committee at the present session, which was presented to the Commission for information only (chap. VII of the 2021 report).

At its seventy-third  session, in 2022, the Commission had before it the fifth report of the Special Rapporteur (A/CN.4/751), which primarily addressed the problems relating to a plurality of injured successor States or of responsible successor States. Following the debate in plenary, the Commission decided that the work of the Commission on the topic would take the form of draft guidelines, rather than draft articles. The Drafting Committee proceeded to prepare draft guidelines on the basis of the texts referred to it by the Commission at previous sessions. The Commission provisionally adopted draft guidelines 6, 10, 10 bis and 11, which had been provisionally adopted by the Drafting Committee in 2018 and 2021, as well as draft guidelines 7 bis, 12, 13, 13 bis, 14, 15 and 15 bis, which were provisionally adopted by the Drafting Committee at the present session, together with commentaries thereto. The Commission also took note of revised draft guidelines 1, 2, 5, 7, 8 and 9, as provisionally adopted by the Drafting Committee and reflected in an annex to the statement of the Chair of the Drafting Committee (chap. VII of the 2022 ILC report).

General principles of law (Summary | Analytical Guide)

At its seventieth session, in 2018, the Commission decided to include the topic “General principles of law” in its programme of work and appointed Mr. Marcelo VázquezBermúdez as Special Rapporteur.

At its seventy-first session, in 2019, the Commission had before it the first report of the Special Rapporteur (A/CN.4/732), which addressed the scope of the topic and the main issues to be addressed in the course of the work of the Commission. The report also addressed previous work of the Commission related to general principles of law and provided an overview of the development of general principles of law over time, as well as an initial assessment of certain basic aspects of the topic and future work on the topic. Following the debate in plenary, the Commission decided to refer draft conclusions 1 to 3, as contained in the report of the Special Rapporteur, to the Drafting Committee. The Commission subsequently took note of the interim report of the Chair of the Drafting Committee on draft conclusion 1 provisionally adopted by the Committee, which was presented to the Commission for information only (chap. IX of the 2019 report).

At its seventy-second session, in 2021, the Commission had before it the second report of the Special Rapporteur (A/CN.4/741 and Corr.1), which discussed the identification of general principles of law in the sense of Article 38, paragraph 1 (c), of the Statute of the International Court of Justice. Following the debate in plenary, the Commission decided to refer draft conclusions 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, as presented in the second report, to the Drafting Committee, taking into account the comments made in plenary. The Commission received and adopted the report of the Drafting Committee on draft conclusions 1, 2 and 4, and provisionally adopted those draft conclusions, together with commentaries. Furthermore, the Commission took note of draft conclusion 5, which was also contained in the report of the Drafting Committee (chap. VIII of the 2021 report).

At its seventy-third  session, in 2022, the Commission had before it the third report of the Special Rapporteur (A/CN.4/753), which discussed the issue of transposition, general principles of law formed within the international legal system, and the functions of general principles of law and their relationship with other sources of international law. Following the debate in plenary, the Commission decided to refer draft conclusions 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14, as presented in the third report, to the Drafting Committee, taking into account the comments made in plenary. The Commission received the report of the Drafting Committee on the consolidated text of draft conclusions 1 to 11, provisionally adopted by the Drafting Committee, and provisionally adopted draft conclusions 3, 5 and 7. The Commission took note of draft conclusions 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11, which were also contained in the report of the Drafting Committee (chap. VIII of the 2022 ILC report).

Sea-level rise in relation to international law (Summary | Analytical Guide)

At its seventy-first session, in 2019, the Commission decided to include the topic in its programme of work and established a Study Group, to be co-chaired, on a rotating basis, by Mr. Bogdan Aurescu, Mr. Yacouba Cissé, Ms. Patrícia Galvão Teles, Ms. Nilüfer Oral and Mr. Juan José Ruda Santolaria. The Study Group held one meeting, at which time it agreed on its composition, methods and programme of work, based on the three subtopics identified in the syllabus. The Commission subsequently took note of the joint oral report of the Co-Chairs of the Study Group (chaps. X and XI, sect. B of the 2019 report).

At its seventy-second session, in 2021, the Commission reconstituted the Study Group on sea-level rise in relation to international law. The Study Group had before it the first issues paper (A/CN.4/740 and Corr.1 and Add.1) concerning issues relating to the law of the sea, prepared by two of the Co-Chairs of the Study Group, Mr. Bogdan Aurescu and Ms. Nilüfer Oral, as well as informal contribution papers and comments submitted by members. The Study Group held a “plenary-like” debate on the various matters discussed in the first issues paper over five meetings, during the first part of the session. The Study Group subsequently undertook an interactive discussion, over three further meetings held during the second part of the session, on the basis of, inter alia, a series of guiding questions prepared by the Co-Chairs. Thereafter, the Co-Chairs reported to the plenary on the work of the Study Group (chap. IX of the 2021 report).

At its seventy-third session, in 2022, the Commission reconstituted the Study Group on sea-level rise in relation to international law. The Study Group had before it the second issues paper (A/CN.4/752 and Add.1) concerning issues relating to statehood and to the protection of persons affected by sea-level rise, prepared by two of the Co-Chairs of the Study Group, Ms. Patricia Galvão Teles and Mr. Juan José Ruda Santolaria. The Study Group had an exchange of views on the basis of the second issues paper and on other matters related to the subtopics under consideration. The Study Group also addressed a series of guiding questions prepared by the Co-Chairs and held a discussion on the future programme of work on the topic (chap. IX of the 2022 ILC report).

Settlement of disputes to which international organizations are parties  (Summary | Analytical Guide)

At its sixty-eighth session, in 2016, the Commission included the topic “The settlement of international disputes to which international organizations are parties” in its long-term programme of work. A syllabus describing the possible overall structure of, and approach to, the topic was annexed to that year’s report of the Commission. At its seventy-third session, in 2022, the International Law Commission decided to include the topic “Settlement of international disputes to which international organizations are parties” in its programme of work and appointed August Reinisch as Special Rapporteur for the topic.

At the seventy-fourth session, in 2023, the Commission had before it the first report of the Special Rapporteur on the topic (A/CN.4/756), which addressed the scope of the topic and provided an analysis of the subject matter of the topic in light of previous relevant work of the Commission and of other international bodies. The report also addressed certain definitional issues. The Commission subsequently provisionally adopted draft guidelines 1 and 2 (A/CN.4/L.983) and decided to change the title of the topic from “Settlement of international disputes to which international organizations are parties” to “Settlement of disputes to which international organizations are parties” (chap. V of the 2023 ILC report)

Prevention and repression of piracy and armed robbery at sea (Summary | Analytical Guide)

At its seventy-first session, in 2019, the Commission included the topic “Prevention and repression of piracy and armed robbery at sea” in its long-term programme of work. A syllabus describing the possible overall structure of, and approach to, the topic was annexed to that year’s report of the Commission.

At its seventy-third session, in 2022, the Commission decided to include the topic “Prevention and repression of piracy and armed robbery at sea” in its programme of work and appointed Yacouba Cissé as Special Rapporteur for the topic.

At its seventy-fourth session, in 2023, the Commission had before it the first report of the Special Rapporteur (A/CN.4/758), which discussed the historical, socioeconomical and legal aspects of the topic; reviewed the national legislation and judicial practice of States concerning the definition of piracy and the implementation of conventional and customary international law; and discussed the future programme of work on the topic. The Commission also had before it a memorandum prepared by the Secretariat providing elements in the previous work of the Commission that could be particularly relevant for its future work on the topic and the views expressed by States; as well as information on resolutions adopted by the Security Council and by the General Assembly relevant to the topic (A/CN.4/757). The Commission subsequently provisionally adopted draft articles 1 to 3 (A/CN.4/L.984);, with commentaries thereto. (chap. VI of the 2023 ILC report)

Subsidiary means for the determination of rules of international law (Summary | Analytical Guide)

At its seventy-second session, in 2021, the Commission included the topic “Subsidiary means for the determination of rules of international law” in its long-term programme of work. A syllabus describing the possible overall structure of, and approach to, the topic was annexed to that year’s report of the Commission.

At its seventy-third session, in 2022, the Commission decided to include the topic “Subsidiary means for the determination of rules of international law” in its programme of work and appointed Charles Chernor Jalloh as Special Rapporteur for the topic.

At its seventy-fourth session, in 2023, the Commission had before it the first report of the Special Rapporteur (A/CN.4/760), as well as a memorandum by the Secretariat providing information on previous work of the Commission that could be of relevance to the future work of the Commission (A/CN.4/759). The first report addressed, inter alia, the scope of the topic and the main issues to be addressed in the course of the work of the Commission, the drafting history of Article 38, paragraph 1 (d) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice and the previous work of the Commission related to subsidiary means. The Commission subsequently adopted draft conclusions 1 to 3 (A/CN.4/L.985), with commentaries thereto, as well as draft conclusions 4 and 5 (A/CN.4/L.985/Add.1). (chap. VII of the 2023 ILC report)

Non-legally binding international agreements (Summary | Analytical Guide)

At its seventy-third session, in 2022, the Commission included the topic “Non-legally binding international agreements” in its long-term programme of work. A syllabus for the topic was annexed to that year’s report of the Commission.

At its seventy-fourth session, in 2023, the Commission decided to include the topic in its programme of work and to appoint Mr. Mathias Forteau as Special Rapporteur (chap. X, sect. B of the 2023 ILC report).

* The information on this page reflects the status as of the date indicated, and will be updated three times per year: shortly before the annual session, after the first part of the annual session, and after the conclusion of the annual session.