The Rule of Law at the National and International Levels

A/RES/69/123No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 82The rule of law at the national and international levels, published in 2014.

What other versions does this mandate have?

20 versions · 2006–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/167

2025A/RES/80/167The rule of law at the national and international levelsLatestCompare with previous version
2024A/RES/79/126The rule of law at the national and international levelsCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/112The rule of law at the national and international levelsCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/77/110The rule of law at the national and international levelsCompare with previous version
2021A/RES/76/117The rule of law at the national and international levelsCompare with previous version

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What subjects does this mandate have?

5 topics

Capacity Building Coordination Within UN System International Law Codification Rule of Law Technical Cooperation

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2015.

2015A/70/206Strengthening and coordinating United Nations rule of law activities report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

20 operative paragraphs

Recalls the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the rule of law at the national and international levels, held during the high-level segment of its sixty-seventh session, and the declaration adopted at that meeting, takes note of the report of the Secretary-General submitted pursuant to paragraph 41 of the declaration, and requests the Sixth Committee to continue its consideration of ways and means of further developing the linkages of the rule of law and the three pillars of the United Nations;

Acknowledges the efforts to strengthen the rule of law through voluntary pledges, encourages States that have not done so to consider making pledges, individually or jointly, based on their national priorities, and also encourages those States that have made pledges to exchange information, knowledge and best practices in this regard;

Takes note of the annual report of the Secretary-General on strengthening and coordinating United Nations rule of law activities;

Reaffirms the role of the General Assembly in encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification, and reaffirms further that States shall abide by all their obligations under international law;

Also reaffirms the imperative of upholding and promoting the rule of law at the international level in accordance with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations;

Welcomes the dialogue initiated by the Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group and the Rule of Law Unit in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General with Member States on the topic “Promoting the rule of law at the international level”, and calls for the continuation of this dialogue with a view to fostering the rule of law at the international level;

Stresses the importance of adherence to the rule of law at the national level and the need to strengthen support to Member States, upon their request, in the domestic implementation of their respective international obligations through enhanced technical assistance and capacity-building;

Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to ensure greater coordination and coherence among the United Nations entities and with donors and recipients, and reiterates its call for greater evaluation of the effectiveness of such activities, including possible measures to improve the effectiveness of those capacity-building activities;

Calls, in this context, for dialogue to be enhanced among all stakeholders with a view to placing national perspectives at the centre of rule of law assistance in order to strengthen national ownership, while recognizing that rule of law activities must be anchored in a national context and that States have different national experiences in the development of their systems of the rule of law, taking into account their legal, political, socioeconomic, cultural, religious and other local specificities, while also recognizing that there are common features founded on international norms and standards;

Calls upon the Secretary-General and the United Nations system to systematically address, as appropriate, aspects of the rule of law in relevant activities, including the participation of women in rule of law-related activities, recognizing the importance of the rule of law to virtually all areas of United Nations engagement;

Expresses full support for the overall coordination and coherence role of the Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group within the United Nations system within existing mandates, supported by the Rule of Law Unit, under the leadership of the Deputy Secretary-General;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit, in a timely manner, his next annual report on United Nations rule of law activities, in accordance with paragraph 5 of its resolution 63/128 of 11 December 2008;

Recognizes the importance of restoring confidence in the rule of law as a key element of transitional justice;

Recalls the commitment of the Member States to take all necessary steps to provide fair, transparent, effective, non-discriminatory and accountable services that promote access to justice for all, including legal aid, encourages further dialogue and the sharing of national practices in strengthening the rule of law through access to justice, including with regard to legal aid, where appropriate, in both criminal and civil proceedings, and in this regard stresses the need to intensify the assistance extended to Governments upon their request;

Stresses the importance of promoting the sharing of national practices and of inclusive dialogue, and invites the Secretary-General to propose ways for Member States to voluntarily exchange best national practices on the rule of law and to include, in his annual report to the General Assembly at its seventieth session, an analytical summary of the thematic debates held pursuant to resolutions 61/39 of 4 December 2006, 62/70 of 6 December 2007, 63/128 of 11 December 2008, 64/116 of 16 December 2009, 65/32 of 6 December 2010, 66/102 of 9 December 2011 and 67/97 of 14 December 2012;

Encourages the Secretary-General and the United Nations system to accord high priority to rule of law activities;

Invites the International Court of Justice, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and the International Law Commission to continue to comment, in their respective reports to the General Assembly, on their current roles in promoting the rule of law;

Invites the Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group and the Rule of Law Unit to continue to interact with Member States in a regular, transparent and inclusive manner, in particular in informal briefings;

Stresses the need for the Rule of Law Unit to carry out its tasks in an effective and sustainable manner and the need to provide it with reasonable means required to that effect;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventieth session the item entitled “The rule of law at the national and international levels”, and invites Member States to focus their comments in the upcoming Sixth Committee debate on the subtopic “The role of multilateral treaty processes in promoting and advancing the rule of law”.

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