Report of the International Law Commission on the Work of Its 76th Session

A/RES/80/164View PDF

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A document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 80Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its 76th session, published in 2025.

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27 versions · 1953–2025

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

Documents International Law International Law Codification Publications

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52 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the International Law Commission on the work of its seventy-sixth session;

Expresses its appreciation to the International Law Commission for the work accomplished at its seventy-sixth session;

Welcomes the completion of the work of the International Law Commission and takes note of its adoption of the final report of the Study Group on the topic “Sea-level rise in relation to international law”, contained in annex I to the report of the Commission on the work of its seventy-sixth session;

Recognizes the valuable contribution of this work to enhancing the understanding and clarification of issues of international law arising in connection with sea-level rise, and invites States to reflect on it in relation to the ongoing work of the General Assembly in 2026 and, in this regard, and without setting a precedent, to express further views on the legal aspects of this topic during the eighty-first session of the Assembly, during the consideration of the report of the Commission on the work of its seventy-seventh session;

Takes note that the International Court of Justice engaged with the final report of the Study Group in its advisory opinion of 23 July 2025;

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

Encourages the International Law Commission to include in its commentaries, where relevant and practicable, indications of the extent to which the Commission views draft provisions as representing the codification or progressive development of international law;

Draws the attention of Governments to the importance for the International Law Commission of having their views 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, including:

Settlement of disputes to which international organizations are parties;

Non-legally binding international agreements;

Prevention and repression of piracy and armed robbery at sea;

Takes note of the decision of the International Law Commission to include the topics “Compensation for the damage caused by internationally wrongful acts” and “Due diligence in international law” in its programme of work, and encourages the Commission to continue the examination of the topics that are in its long-term programme of work;

Encourages the International Law Commission to take particular account of the capacity and views of Member States, as well as of the workload of the Commission, when including topics in its current programme of work;

Takes note of paragraphs 445 to 449 of the report of the International Law Commission, and notes, in particular, the inclusion of the topics “The principle of non‑intervention in international law”, “Identification and legal consequences of obligations erga omnes in international law” and “Legal aspects of accountability for crimes committed against United Nations personnel serving in peacekeeping operations” in the long-term programme of work of the Commission, and in this regard calls upon the Commission to take into consideration the comments, concerns and observations expressed by Governments during the debate in the Sixth Committee;

Also takes note of paragraph 464 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;

Recalls that the persons to be elected to the International Law Commission should individually possess the qualifications required and that in the Commission as a whole representation of the main forms of civilization and of the principal legal systems of the world should be assured, as well as invites Member States to bear in mind General Assembly resolution 77/335 of 1 September 2023, concerning working methods of the Assembly and its subsidiary organs, when nominating candidates for the Commission;

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;

Recalls the importance of an in-depth analysis of State practice and the consideration of the diversity of legal systems of Member States to the work of the International Law Commission;

Takes note of paragraph 471 of the report of the International Law Commission, recalls the paramount importance of multilingualism as set forth in General Assembly resolution 78/330 of 6 September 2024 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 while ensuring their accuracy in all official languages, and to this end requests special rapporteurs to submit their reports within the time limits specified by the Secretariat, and the Secretariat to give due consideration to the quality of the translation of the documents of the Commission in the six official languages;

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;

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

Takes note of paragraphs 440 to 444 of the report of the International Law Commission describing the reduction of its annual session from the originally planned 12-week session that was decided in General Assembly resolution 79/121 to a single 5-week period (28 April to 30 May 2025) due to the serious liquidity crisis, which in the view of the Commission raised serious concerns about establishing a precedent, and emphasizes that no precedent has been established regarding the reduction of the session;

Also takes note of paragraphs 487 to 489 of the report of the International Law Commission, decides that the seventy-seventh session of the Commission shall be held from 20 April to 29 May 2026 or from 27 April to 5 June 2026 and from 29 June to 7 August 2026, at United Nations Headquarters in New York or at the United Nations Office at Geneva, with due consideration given to facilitating the participation of Member States and to the most cost-effective location, and stresses the importance of having a 12-week session in two parts;

Decides, without prejudice to the budgetary prerogatives of the Fifth Committee and to the authority of the Secretary-General, that no exceptional measures affecting the duration of the seventy-seventh session of the International Law Commission shall be taken by the Secretariat without consultation with the Bureau of the Sixth Committee, which shall inform the Sixth Committee;

Stresses the desirability of further enhancing the dialogue between the International Law Commission, in particular the special rapporteurs, 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;

Underlines in this regard the necessity to allow sufficient time for the consideration of the report of the International Law Commission in the Sixth Committee;

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;

Recognizes the significant value of the commentaries of the International Law Commission for the users of its work, and emphasizes the importance of feedback from States;

Takes note of paragraphs 490 to 493 of the report of the International Law Commission with regard to cooperation and interaction with other bodies, notes with regret the limited exchange of views with other relevant bodies in 2025, and encourages the Commission, in a balanced manner, to continue to strengthen cooperation between the Commission and other bodies concerned with international law, in accordance with articles 25 and 26 of its statute, having in mind the usefulness of such cooperation and recognizing the importance of continued dialogue and consultation among them to promote international law;

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;

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

Takes note of paragraph 469 of the report of the International Law Commission, stresses the need to expedite the preparation of the summary records of the International Law Commission, 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;

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

Welcomes the efforts of the Secretariat in seeking to ensure the timely and efficient processing of the documents of the International Law Commission and the institutionalization of the measures taken during the sixty-eighth session of the Commission to streamline the editing of those documents;

Takes note of paragraph 468 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;

Also takes note of paragraphs 472 to 475 of the report of the International Law Commission, expresses its appreciation to the United Nations Library at Geneva for the dedicated assistance accorded to the Commission, and notes the Commission’s concern that current budget constraints could limit the capacity of the Library to offer specialized research assistance and to acquire additional publications essential for the work of the Commission;

Further takes note of paragraph 476 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 477 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;

Takes note of paragraph 478 of the report of the International Law Commission and expresses its appreciation for contributions made to date to the trust fund to receive voluntary contributions for assistance to Special Rapporteurs of the International Law Commission or Chairs of its Study Groups and matters ancillary thereto, and invites further contributions to the trust fund, in accordance with the terms of the trust fund, including the need for the financial contributions not to be earmarked for any specific activity of the International Law Commission, its Special Rapporteurs or Chairs of its Study Groups;

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 and from different countries in the various regions, 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 continue 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, 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 any draft provisions 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 eighty-first session of the General Assembly commence on 26 October 2026.

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