Introduction: The Role and Contributions of the International Law Commission to the Development of International Law, a Symposium Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the ILC
Charles C. Jalloh, Introduction: The Role and Contributions of the International Law Commission to the Development of International Law, a Symposium Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the ILC [comments] 13 FIU L. Rev. 975 (2019).
Florida International University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 20-10
15 Pages Posted: 9 Jul 2020
Date Written: July 8, 2020
Abstract
This article introduces the special issue of the FIU Law Review addressing the mandate of the International Law Commission (ILC), which was established by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 174 (II) on 21 November 1947, to assist States with the promotion of the “progressive development” of international law and its “codification”. On the occasion of the ILC’s 70th anniversary, Florida International University College of Law convened a high-level international symposium in Miami on October 26-27, 2018 to critically evaluate the foundational meanings of “codification” and “progressive development of international law.” Leading scholars and practitioners of international law from the United States and around the world, including several ILC members and special rapporteurs from different regions, interrogated how the pillars of “progressive development” and “codification” of international law shaped the mandate, practice, and contributions of the Commission to the development of modern international law. The experts debated the ILC’s role in the contemporary law-making process, its topic selection criteria, and potential improvements to its working methods. Key additional debates centered on whether the ILC should strike a better balance between “traditional” and “newer” topics, between “progressive development” on the one hand and “codification” on the other, between maintaining stability and innovating change, and if so, how far it can realistically be expected to go as a subsidiary technical body of the General Assembly in progressively developing international law. The author argues that, while the ILC has sought to give effect to its apparently distinctive two-part mandate since 1947, the pragmatic ‘composite view’ it has taken towards its statutory responsibility is what enabled the Commission to make substantial contributions to the development of the post World War II international legal order.
Keywords: International Law Commission, ILC, codification of international law, progressive development of international law, ILC 70th anniversary symposium, ILC working methods, ILC topic selection criteria, promotion of international law
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