Dag Hammarskjöld Library at Uppsala University
International Law Commission (ILC)
- © United Nations
The International Law Commission was established in 1947 by the General Assembly to promote the progressive development of international law and its codification in accordance with article 13(1)(a) of the Charter of the United Nations.
The Commission is comprised of 34 members elected by the General Assembly for a five-year term in their personal capacity as experts, not as representatives of their Governments. It holds an annual session in Geneva for a period of ten to twelve weeks. The subjects for consideration by the International Law Commission are partly chosen by the ILC itself, partly through recommendatioins by the General Assembly or the Economic and Social Council.
When the International Law Commission has completed a draft article, it is referred to the General Assembly for further action. The Assembly usually convenes a diplomatic conference of plenipotentiaries to incorporate it into multilateral agreements.
Documentation
Individual documents from the International Law Commission carry the following symbols:
/ General Assembly |
-/CN.4 Commission no. 4 = International Law Commission |
-/sequential number |
Ex. A/CN.4/L.622 General Assembly, Commission no. 4, limited distribution (Limited), dokument 622. |
Background information about the structure and work of the Commission and full text documents and reports can be accessed from the official web page of the International Law Commission at the UN official web site, section International Law.
Summary records of meetings are posted at the official web site of the International Law Commission, Sessions under the symbol A/CN.4/SR.sequential number. A complete collection of summary records of meetings is held by the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, Uppsala, and the Libraries at UN Headquarters in New York and Geneva.
Annual reports of the International Law Commission are published in the series General Assembly. Official Records. Supplement No. 10. A complete collection of reports is held by the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, Uppsala, and the Libraries at UN Headquarters in New York and Geneva. Full text reports from 2000 onwards are posted at the UN official web site, section Documents, General Assembly, Session Documents.
The Yearbook of the International Law Commission contains summary records of meetings for a given year and texts of the drafts articles prepared by the Commission. A complete collection of yearbooks is held by the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, Uppsala, and the Libraries at UN Headquarters in New York and Geneva. An online version is posted at the web site of the International Law Commission.
The Analytical Guide to the Work of the International Law Commission, 1949-1997 allows a researcher to trace the Commission's work on a particular international law issue. It is posted online at the UN official web site, section International Law Commission, Analytical Guide.
Yearbook of the United Nations, Part Four: Legal questions provides an excellent overview of the work of the International Law Commission. A complete collection of yearbooks is held by the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, Uppsala, and the Libraries at UN Headquarters in New York and Geneva. Since October 2008 the complete full text collection of The United Nations Yearbooks is available online at http://unyearbook.un.org/.
Databases and Indexes
The UN Library online catalogue UNBISnet contains reports, documents and articles related to the International Law Commission with links to full texts for recent years. Subject search can be performed using relevant terms from the UNBIS THESAURUS.
A complete list of Yearbooks of the International Law Commission can be accessed from the database UN-I-QUE at the UN official web site.
Printed Indexes