The Rule of Law at the National and International Levels

A/RES/70/118View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 85The rule of law at the national and international levels, published in 2015.

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, 2016.

2016A/71/169Strengthening 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?

28 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 between 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 all States to consider making pledges, individually or jointly, based on their national priorities, and also encourages those States that have made pledges to continue 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;

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

Reaffirms the role of the General Assembly in encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification, and further reaffirms that States shall abide by all of 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 adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

Recognizes the role of multilateral treaty processes in advancing the rule of law, recalls the constructive debate held on this subtopic in the Sixth Committee during its seventieth session, and in this regard:

Reaffirms its support for the annual treaty event organized by the Secretary-General, which provides an opportunity for States to increase their participation in the multilateral treaty framework;

Recognizes the importance of the registration and publication of treaties in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter, and invites the Secretary-General to review the regulations giving effect to that article, taking into account recent developments, and to submit the result of that review to the Sixth Committee for consideration at the seventy-first session of the General Assembly;

Welcomes the efforts made to develop and enhance the United Nations electronic treaty database, providing online access to comprehensive information on the depositary functions of the Secretary-General and the registration and publication of treaties under Article 102 of the Charter, and encourages the continuation of such efforts in the future, while bearing in mind that many developing countries lack affordable access to information and communication technologies;

Recognizes the importance of the legal publications prepared by the Treaty Section of the Office of Legal Affairs of the Secretariat, emphasizes the need for those publications, particularly the Summary of Practice of the Secretary-General as Depositary of Multilateral Treaties, to be updated, taking into account new developments and practices, and invites the Secretary-General to include, as appropriate, brief information on such developments and practices in the next annual report;

Welcomes the organization of workshops on treaty law and practice by the Treaty Section, both at the regional level and at United Nations Headquarters, as an important capacity-building initiative, and invites States to continue to support this activity;

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;

Recognizes the importance of the United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law to the furtherance of United Nations rule of law programmes and activities, emphasizes that further technical assistance and capacity-building initiatives, focused on increasing and improving the participation of Member States in the multilateral treaty process, should be examined, and invites States to support these activities;

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 in order to develop, reinforce and maintain domestic institutions active in the promotion of rule of law at the national and international levels, subject to national ownership, strategies and priorities;

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 and 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, addressing, in a balanced manner, the national and international dimensions of the rule of law;

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

Recalls the commitment of 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 birth registration and 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, welcomes the proposals made by the Secretary-General, inviting Member States to voluntarily exchange national best practices on the rule of law in informal meetings and on an electronic depository of best practices on the United Nations rule of law website, and invites Member States to do so;

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 their dialogue with all Member States by interacting with them in a regular, transparent and inclusive manner, in particular in informal briefings, and welcomes the informal briefings held during the sixty-ninth session;

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 seventy-first session the item entitled “The rule of law at the national and international levels”, and invites Member States to focus their comments during the upcoming Sixth Committee debate on the subtopics “Sharing national practices of States in the implementation of multilateral treaties” and “Practical measures to facilitate access to justice for all, including for the poorest and most vulnerable”.

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