Tag Archives: ILC
4 December 2013
In the aftermath of a disaster, affected States need to address its material consequences. For this purpose, aid is normally forthcoming from other States, international organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations. In practice, however, this foreign aid is not always accepted. And even if external assistance is agreed to, as the Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) put it in 2000: ‘There is no definitive, broadly accepted source of international law which spells out legal standards, procedures, rights and duties pertaining to disaster response and assistance. No systematic attempt has been made to put together the disparate threads of existing law, to formalize customary law or to expand and develop the law in new ways.’
In this ‘yawning gap’, as the IFRC labeled it, stepped the International Law Commission (ILC or Commision) in 2006 when, in fulfillment of its Charter and Statute mandate and on the proposal of the United Nations (UN) Secretariat it included the topic ‘Protection of persons in the event of disasters’ in its program of work. (more…)
1 November 2013
The International Law Commission (ILC), in its sixty-fifth session (2013) decided to include in its programme a topic entitled ‘Protection of the Atmosphere’ (see here para. 168). The ILC appointed as a Special Rapporteur Mr. Shinya Murase.
The inclusion of the topic is a very interesting development. It is the second topic pertaining to environmental law (the other being ‘Protection of the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflicts’) currently under consideration by the ILC. It is also a very difficult topic, given the number of conventions, both successful and unsuccessful ones, that have been so far concluded, the body of academic output on issues of atmospheric pollution and the strong political pull on the issue. (more…)
28 October 2013
On 28 October, the President of the International Law Commission (ILC) informed the 6th Committee of the General Assembly that the ILC had decided to include in its work programme the topic ‘Protection of the Atmosphere’, but that the work on the topic would proceed in a manner so as not to interfere with relevant political negotiations, including on climate change. Also, it will not deal with, but is also without prejudice to, questions such as liability of states and their nationals, the polluter pays principle, and common but differentiated responsibilities.
The report of the ILC on the work of its 65th Session, available on the UN website, indicates that the outcome of the work on the topic will be draft guidelines that ‘do not seek to impose on current treaty regimes’.
The President made his statement at the start of the consideration by the 6th Committee of the work of the ILC, which will continue in the next few weeks.
Source: United Nations | International Law Commission | Report of the sixty-fifth session (2013) | General Assembly | A/68/10
Source: United Nations | International Law Commission | Current Programme of Work | Protection of the atmosphere
2013
This short article sheds some light on the difficulties inherent in the application of international responsibility mechanisms to situations of authorized regional uses of force. It shows the extent to which the double institutional veil that characterizes these situations comes … Read more
21 November 2011
On 17 November 2011, the UN General Assembly elected the new members of the International Law Commission (ILC) for a five-year term beginning on 1 January 2012 (until 31 December 2016). The full list of new members can be found on the website of the ILC: www.un.org/law/ilc