Report of the International Law Commission on the Work of Its 68th Session

A/RES/71/140No PDF available

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A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 78Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its 68th session, published in 2016.

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27 versions · 1953–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/164

2025A/RES/80/164Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its 76th sessionLatestCompare with previous version
2024A/RES/79/121Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its 75th sessionCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/108Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its 74th sessionCompare with previous version
2019A/RES/73/265Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its 70th sessionCompare with previous version
2017A/RES/72/116Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its 69th sessionCompare with previous version

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4 topics

Documentation International Law International Law Codification Publications

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46 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the International Law Commission on the work of its sixty-eighth session;1

Expresses its appreciation to the International Law Commission for the work accomplished at its sixty-eighth session, and notes in particular:

The completion of the second reading of the draft articles on the protection of persons in the event of disasters with the adoption of an entire set of draft articles on the topic;

The completion of the first reading of the draft conclusions on identification of customary international law with the adoption of an entire set of draft conclusions on the topic;

The completion of the first reading of the draft conclusions on subsequent agreements and subsequent practice in relation to the interpretation of treaties with the adoption of an entire set of draft conclusions on the topic;

Recommends that the International Law Commission continue its work on the topics in its current programme, taking into account the comments and observations of Governments, whether submitted in writing or expressed orally in debates in the Sixth Committee;

Draws the attention of Governments to the importance for the International Law Commission of having their views by 31 January 2017 on the various aspects of the topics on the agenda of the Commission, in particular on all the specific issues identified in chapter III of its report, regarding:

Crimes against humanity;

Protection of the atmosphere;

Provisional application of treaties;

Jus cogens;

Immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction;

Also draws the attention of Governments to the importance for the International Law Commission of having their comments and observations by 1 January 2018 on the draft conclusions on the topics “Identification of customary international law” and “Subsequent agreements and subsequent practice in relation to the interpretation of treaties”, adopted on first reading by the Commission at its sixty-eighth session;

Takes note of paragraphs 306 to 313 of the report of the International Law Commission and notes, in particular, the inclusion of the topics “The settlement of international disputes to which international organizations are parties” and “Succession of States in respect of State responsibility” in the long-term programme of work of the Commission, as well as the recommendation of the Commission that the potential topics identified in the memorandum by the Secretariat concerning “Possible topics for consideration taking into account the review of the list of topics established in 1996 in the light of subsequent developments” be further considered by the Working Group on the Long-term Programme of Work at the sixty-ninth session of the Commission;

Recalls that the seat of the International Law Commission is at the United Nations Office at Geneva;

Takes note of the comments of the International Law Commission on the possibility of holding one half session in the next quinquennium in New York, as presented in paragraphs 323 to 326 of its report, and endorses its recommendation that the first part of the seventieth session of the Commission be held in New York, which will coincide with the commemoration of the seventieth anniversary of the Commission;

Takes note with appreciation of the recommendations of the International Law Commission, contained in paragraphs 327 to 332 of its report, that a seventieth anniversary event be held during its seventieth session, in 2018, at meetings in New York and in Geneva, that a report on those meetings be discussed at the annual meeting of the Legal Advisers in New York and that the anniversary event lead to a publication;

Takes note of paragraph 333 of the report of the International Law Commission, and requests the Secretary-General to continue his efforts to identify concrete options for support for the work of special rapporteurs, additional to those provided under General Assembly resolution 56/272 of 27 March 2002;

Welcomes the efforts of the International Law Commission to improve its methods of work, and encourages the Commission to continue this practice;

Invites the International Law Commission to continue to take measures to enhance its efficiency and productivity and to consider making proposals to Member States to that end;

Encourages the International Law Commission to continue to take cost-saving measures at its future sessions, without prejudice to the efficiency and effectiveness of its work;

Takes note of paragraph 347 of the report of the International Law Commission, and decides that the next session of the Commission shall be held at the United Nations Office at Geneva from 1 May to 2 June and from 3 July to 4 August 2017;

Stresses the desirability of further enhancing the dialogue between the International Law Commission and the Sixth Committee, and in this context encourages, inter alia, the continued practice of informal consultations in the form of discussions between the members of the Sixth Committee and the members of the Commission throughout the year;

Encourages delegations, during the debate on the report of the International Law Commission, to continue to adhere as far as possible to the structured work programme agreed to by the Sixth Committee and to consider presenting concise and focused statements;

Encourages Member States to consider being represented at the level of legal adviser during the first week in which the report of the International Law Commission is discussed in the Sixth Committee (International Law Week) to enable high-level discussions on issues of international law;

Requests the International Law Commission to continue to pay special attention to indicating in its annual report, for each topic, any specific issues on which expressions of views by Governments, either in the Sixth Committee or in written form, would be of particular interest in providing effective guidance for the Commission in its further work;

Takes note of paragraphs 348 to 351 of the report of the International Law Commission with regard to cooperation and interaction with other bodies, and encourages the Commission to continue the implementation of articles 16 (e), 25 and 26 of its statute in order to further strengthen cooperation between the Commission and other bodies concerned with international law, having in mind the usefulness of such cooperation;

Notes that consulting with national organizations and individual experts concerned with international law may assist Governments in considering whether to make comments and observations on drafts submitted by the International Law Commission and in formulating their comments and observations;

Reaffirms its previous decisions concerning the indispensable role of the Codification Division of the Office of Legal Affairs of the Secretariat in providing assistance to the International Law Commission, including in the preparation of memorandums and studies on topics on the agenda of the Commission, and takes note of the requests of the Commission for the Secretariat to prepare memorandums on the topics “Identification of customary international law” and “Provisional application of treaties” contained in paragraphs 301 and 302 of the report of the Commission;

Also reaffirms its previous decisions concerning the documentation and summary records of the International Law Commission;

Welcomes the institutionalization of the practice of the Secretariat to include the provisional summary records in English and French on the website relating to the work of the International Law Commission;

Also welcomes the efforts of the Secretariat in seeking to ensure timely and efficient processing of the documents of the International Law Commission, and encourages the Secretariat to institutionalize the experimental measures taken during the sixty-eighth session of the Commission to streamline the editing of those documents;

Takes note of paragraphs 338 to 340 of the report of the International Law Commission, recalls the paramount importance of multilingualism as set forth in General Assembly resolution 69/324 of 11 September 2015 on multilingualism, underlines the importance of having the documents of the Commission published in due time in the six official languages of the United Nations, and to this end encourages special rapporteurs to submit their reports within the time limits specified by the Secretariat;

Takes note of paragraphs 334 and 335 of the report of the International Law Commission, underlines the importance of the publications of the Codification Division to the work of the Commission, and reiterates its request that the Secretary-General continue to publish the Work of the International Law Commission in all six official languages at the beginning of each quinquennium, the Reports of International Arbitral Awards in English or French and the Summaries of the Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders of the International Court of Justice in all six official languages every five years;

Stresses the need to expedite the preparation of the summary records of the International Law Commission, and welcomes the continuation of the measures taken to streamline the processing of summary records during the sixty-fifth session of the Commission, which have led to a more rational use of resources, and expresses its satisfaction that the summary records of the Commission, constituting travaux préparatoires in the progressive development and codification of international law, will not be subject to arbitrary length restrictions;

Takes note of paragraph 342 of the report of the International Law Commission, stresses the unique value of the Yearbook of the International Law Commission, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure its timely publication in all official languages;

Expresses its appreciation to Governments that have made voluntary contributions to the trust fund on the backlog relating to the Yearbook of the International Law Commission, and encourages further contributions to the trust fund;

Takes note of paragraph 343 of the report of the International Law Commission, expresses its satisfaction with the remarkable progress achieved in the past few years in reducing the backlog of the Yearbook of the International Law Commission in all six languages, welcomes the efforts made by the Division of Conference Management of the United Nations Office at Geneva, especially its Editing Section, in effectively implementing relevant resolutions of the General Assembly calling for the reduction of the backlog, encourages that Division to provide continuous necessary support to the Editing Section in advancing the Yearbook of the International Law Commission, and requests that updates on progress made in this respect be provided to the Commission on a regular basis;

Welcomes the continuous efforts of the Codification Division to maintain and improve the website relating to the work of the International Law Commission;

Expresses the hope that the International Law Seminar will continue to be held in connection with the sessions of the International Law Commission and that an increasing number of participants representing the principal legal systems of the world, including in particular those from developing countries, will be given the opportunity to attend the Seminar, as well as delegates to the Sixth Committee, and appeals to States to continue to make urgently needed voluntary contributions to the United Nations Trust Fund for the International Law Seminar;

Requests the Secretary-General to provide the International Law Seminar with adequate services, including interpretation, as required, and encourages him to continue to consider ways to improve the structure and content of the Seminar;

Underlines the importance of the records and topical summary of the debate in the Sixth Committee for the deliberations of the International Law Commission, and in this regard requests the Secretary-General to forward to the Commission, for its attention, the records of the debate on the report of the Commission at the seventy-first session of the General Assembly, together with such written statements as delegations may circulate in conjunction with their oral statements, and to prepare and distribute a topical summary of the debate, following established practice;

Requests the Secretariat to circulate to States, as soon as possible after the conclusion of the session of the International Law Commission, chapter II of its report containing a summary of the work of that session, chapter III containing the specific issues on which the views of Governments would be of particular interest to the Commission and the draft articles adopted on either first or second reading by the Commission;

Also requests the Secretariat to make the complete report of the International Law Commission available as soon as possible after the conclusion of the session of the Commission for the consideration of Member States with due anticipation and no later than the prescribed time limit for reports in the General Assembly;

Encourages the International Law Commission to continue to consider ways in which specific issues on which the views of Governments would be of particular interest to the Commission could be framed so as to help Governments to have a better appreciation of the issues on which responses are required;

Recommends that the debate on the report of the International Law Commission at the seventy-second session of the General Assembly commence on 23 October 2017.

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