The Changing Form of the International Law Commission’s Work

Jacob Katz Cogan

doi:10.1017/s2398772300001756

Abstract

Sean Murphy’s report on the sixty-fifth session of the International Law Commission (ILC) describes and analyzes the Commission’s activities and decisions from last summer. He focuses his attention, as the Commission did, on the draft articles proposed by the Special Rapporteurs on the topics “immunity of state officials from criminal jurisdiction” and “the protection of persons in the event of disaster,” as well as the Special Rapporteur’s reported draft conclusions on the topic “subsequent agreements and subsequent practice in relation to the interpretation of treaties.” Consideration of these proposals took up a significant amount of the Commission’s time, and they will garner much commentary inside and outside governments, as befits their importance.

Highlights

Sean Murphy’s report[1] on the sixty-fifth session of the International Law Commission (ILC) describes and analyzes the Commission’s activities and decisions from last summer
As the Commission did, on the draft articles proposed by the Special Rapporteurs on the topics “immunity of state officials from criminal jurisdiction” and “the protection of persons in the event of disaster,” as well as the Special Rapporteur’s reported draft conclusions on the topic “subsequent agreements and subsequent practice in relation to the interpretation of treaties.”
For most of its history, this product was typically packaged, as Professor Murphy notes in a recent book chapter[3], as “draft articles”—a phrase taken from the language of Article 20 of the ILC Statute

Summary

Introduction

Sean Murphy’s report[1] on the sixty-fifth session of the International Law Commission (ILC) describes and analyzes the Commission’s activities and decisions from last summer. One of the last decisions the Commission must take as it concludes its work on a topic is the recommendation that it will make to the UN General Assembly on what (if any) future action should be taken on the Commission’s product.

Results

Conclusion