CYIL vol. 14 (2023)

MAREK ZUKAL – ANNA MATOUŠKOVÁ CYIL 14 (2023) this subject. Some Member States expressed the view that general principles of law were only a subsidiary source of international law, while other States stressed that there was no hierarchy between sources of international law. Doubts were expressed about the current draft article 3 which assumes that general principles of law may be formed within the international legal system. Some States (including the Czech Republic) are not convinced by this conclusion and consider that general principles of law within the meaning of Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice can only be derived from national legal systems (the same view was expressed, for example, by Austria, Ireland, Israel, Romania, Slovakia, the United States). It remains to be seen how the Special Rapporteur and the ILC will reflect these views in their further work on this issue. Concluding remarks The United Nations Legal Counsel once allegedly said that the Sixth Committee had become “a graveyard for the ILC products”. The fact is that, compared to the past, the Committee does not follow up on ILC products as efficiently as it used to. The main reason for this is the politicization of topics under consideration. However, compared to the outcome of last year’s session, a significant breakthrough was made on the issue of crimes against humanity. The country-led facilitation broke the vicious circle of inaction and gave hope that crimes against humanity will be regulated by a dedicated convention in the future. Until now, they have only been regulated by customary international law. For the first time, the resumed session provided space for a structured discussion on the substance of the Draft Articles on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity. It remains to be seen whether this breakthrough will increase the appetite for change in the Committee’s working methods and for progress on other issues, or whether it will remain limited to the issue of crimes against humanity.

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