Analysis Of States’ Comments On International Law Commission’s Reports On Jus Cogens In Sixth Committee Of United Nations General Assembly

Abstract

At its second session, in 1947, The International Law Commission was established by the General Assembly with a view to give effect to Article 13, paragraph 1(a), of the charter of the United Nations to “initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of encouraging the progressive development of International law and its codification. Since its inception the International Law Commission has pursued very focused research work and has presented many draft treaties on various topics of international law, which in the most cases have subsequently bec0me skeleton of many treaties passed by United Nations General Assembly. At any given point of time the International Law Commission is always working on some forthcoming proposed international conventions. As a matter of procedure the commission every year send a report of its’s work to the United nations General Assembly. These yearly reports of the commission are discussed in the legal committee of the General Assembly, which is famously known as Sixth Committee (Legal) of the United Nations General Assembly. In sixth committee meetings legal members of all States issue their statements expressing their country’s opinions on the Commission’s work on its various ongoing projects to formulate drafts for the proposed international treaties which would come in future. States generally express their view points on all such projects. A careful analysis of these Statements issued by the States’ in the Sixth Committee, can provide an insight in the inclination of the States toward such forthcoming treaties. The vocabulary which these legal diplomats use to express their country’s opinion can provide idea whether a country is positive and receptive for any particular international treaty or the country has antagonistic view point about a draft treaty. These Statements are very good for the purpose of research on international law. These provide a clear idea that what aspects related to an international law problem are weighing with which kind of countries. A careful analysis can show that how priorities of the country’s are different and sometime clashing on the basis their economic and military might, their historical experiences and geographical set-ups. In the present report nearly 200 students of UPES Law School (B.BA.LL.B. Corporate Law_ 2017 Batch (B1&B2) and B.Com.LL.B. Taxation Law_ 2017 Batch (B1&B2)) have analysed statements issued by the States in Sixth Committee in its four annual sessions (71st session to 74th session) where the annual reports of International Law Commission’s works related to four annual sessions of the commission were discussed. The students have focussed only on States’ comments on the commission’s work on proposed international convention on the Jus Cogens (Pre-emptory Norms of International law).