CYIL 2012

THE ACTIVITIES OF THE SIXTH COMMITTEE DURING THE 66 TH SESSION … THE ACTIVITIES OF THE SIXTH COMMITTEE DURING THE 66 TH SESSION OF THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY: BUSINESS AS USUAL? Abstract: The objective of this article is to provide an overview of the work of the Sixth (Legal) Committee during the 66 th session of the UN General Assembly. In particular, the consideration of three items of the agenda of this Committee is examined in detail: the Nationality of Natural Persons in Relation to the Succession of States, the Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism (with focus on the unsuccessful negotiations on the draft Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism) and the Scope and Application of the Principle of Universal Jurisdiction. Finally, the other issues dealt by the Sixth Committee during this session of the General Assembly are also briefly described. Through the above-stated three examples, the author attempts to show how the Sixth Committee currently operates. Resumé: Cílem tohoto článku je poskytnout přehled o práci Šestého (právního) výboru během 66. zasedání Valného shromáždění OSN. O následujících třech bo dech agendy tohoto výboru je pojednáno podrobněji: státní příslušnost fyzických osob ve vztahu k sukcesi států, opatření na odstranění mezinárodního terorismu (s důrazem na neúspěšná jednání o návrhu Všeobecné úmluvy o mezinárodním terorismu) a rozsah a aplikace principu univerzální jurisdikce. Ostatní otázky, kte rými se Šestý výbor během tohoto zasedání Valného shromáždění zabýval, jsou také stručně popsány. Autor se pokouší na třech výše uvedených příkladech ukázat, jak Šestý výbor v současnosti funguje. Key Words: United Nations, General Assembly, Sixth Committee, International Law Commission, Succession of States, Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, Universal Jurisdiction. On the Author: Mr. Petr Válek is the Legal Adviser of the Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic to the UN (hereinafter the “Czech Mission”). Before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (hereinafter the “MFA”), he served in the Czech Army. In 2004, he was posted by the MFA as Legal Adviser in the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad and, in 2007, he worked for the UN Mission in Kosovo. Prior to his move to the Czech Mission in 2009, he dealt with various legal issues and negotiated treaties in the International Law Department of the MFA. He studied at the Charles University Law School in Prague (Mgr., JUDr. and Ph.D.), the J. W. Goethe University Law School in Frankfurt am Main and the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor (LL.M.). * The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily correspond with the official position of the MFA and do not bind this institution in any way. Petr Válek *

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