United Nations of the International Law Commission: qualifications and procedure for the election of members

Abstract

The United Nations of the International Law Commission is one of the most prominent international institutions dealing with the progressive development of international law and its codification. At the same time, the analysis of the latest scientific publications, which disclose various aspects of the activities of the International Law Commission of, has led to the conclusion that representatives of the native science of international law do not pay adequate attention to the study of various aspects of its legal status. Taking this into account, the article reveals the procedure of election of the members of the International Law Commission of and describes the established requirements for their qualification. According to the results of the conducted research it has been established that membership of the International Law Commission is consisted of 34 persons having an acknowledged authority in the branch of international law and representing the most important forms of civilization and the main legal systems of the world. From the first session until today, the membership of the International Law Commission has changed three times, in particular: in 1956; in 1961; and in 1981. Each time the reason for the increase in the membership of the International Law Commission has been the significant increase in the number of States Members of the United Nations. All members of the International Law Commission attend meetings on their own account and not as representatives of member states of the United Nations. As a general rule, the members of the International Law Commission are elected on the basis of equitable geographical distribution in a secret ballot by the General Assembly of the United Nations for a term of five years, with the right of re-election. In the event of a vacancy in its membership at the time of the next election, the International Law Commission shall fill the vacancy independently. The grounds for such an election may be the incumbent member's own wish to cease serving on the International Law Commission, death, serious illness, appointment to a new post, and so forth. Members elected to fill casual vacancies shall serve for the remainder of the term of the current membership of the International Law Commission and shall be eligible for re-election at the next election.