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Last update: January 20, 2023

Summaries of the Work of the International Law Commission

Subsidiary means for the determination of rules of international law

See also: Analytical Guide | Texts and Instruments

At its seventy-seventh 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.1 A syllabus describing the possible overall structure of, and approach to, the topic was annexed to that year’s report of the Commission.2

The General Assembly, in resolution 76/111 of 9 December 2021, took note of the inclusion of the topic in the long-term programme of work of the Commission.

At its seventy-third session, in 2022, the International Law Commission decided to include the topic "Subsidiary means for the determination of rules of international law" in its programme of work, on the basis of the recommendation of the Working Group on the long-term programme of work. The Commission decided to appoint Mr. Charles Chernor Jalloh as Special Rapporteur for the topic.3 The Commission also requested the Secretariat to prepare a memorandum identifying elements in the previous work of the Commission that could be particularly relevant to the topic and surveying the case law of international courts and tribunals, and other bodies, which would be particularly relevant for its future work on the topic.4

The work of the Commission on the topic as described above has been proceeding in accordance with the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly under the item relating to the report of the International Law Commission.5

1 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-fourth Session, Supplement No. 10 (A/76/10), para. 302.

2 See ibid., annex.

3 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-seventh Session, Supplement No. 10 (A/77/10), para. 240.

4 See ibid., para. 245.

5 General Assembly resolution 77/103 of 7 December 2022.