CYIL vol. 14 (2023)

CYIL 14 (2023) THREE QUARTERS OF A CENTURY OF THE UN INTERNATIONAL LAW COMMISSION… activities and way of life required the progressive development of international law. These, the progressive development and the codification were and still are the fundamental tasks of the Commission according to its statute. 4 2. The successful history of the Commission and its achievements After the end of the Second World War and in the context of efforts and expectations that humanity should be saved from a new, destructive world conflict, the then current question was how to ensure at the international level, i.e., with international law, the just and legally based punishment of those who were the most responsible for the outbreak of the devastating world conflict and for terrible mass crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes against peace, and the crime of aggression. The punishment of persons responsible for these crimes should not be an act of revenge, but rather a just punishment, based on personal responsibility and on personal guilt established in a fair judicial process, based on international law. Therefore, it is understandable that among the first tasks of the Commission was the establishment of the legal framework and foundations on which the international criminal courts established at the time, especially the Nuremberg and Tokyo courts, at which the main Nazi and Japanese war criminals were prosecuted, could operate according to rules and standards of independent, competent, and just courts. Together with the draft of the Declaration on the Rights and Duties of States 5 thus the first draft of the Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind, the Nuremberg Principles 6 were the first major achievements of the Commission and its important contribution to the then international legal order. The Commission’s efforts to enact the Code of Crimes Against the Peace and Security of Mankind 7 were subsequently initiated in the Commission 8 and after few decades led to the draft statute (The Rome Statute) 9 of a permanent international criminal court and then to the establishment of the permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. 10 In complex circumstances, when humanity was threatened by the possibility of a new global conflict, an ongoing Cold War and the establishment of two military blocs, and when 4 Art. 1(1) Statute of the Commission: “The International Law Commission shall have for its object the promotion of the progressive development of international law and its codification”. 5 Draft Declaration on Rights and Duties of States, text see the Annex to GA res. 375 (IV), 6. 12. 1949.; see also Yearbook of the International Law Commission 1949. 6 Principles of International Law Recognized in the Charter of Nirenberg Tribunal and in the Judgment of the Tribunal, adopted by the Commission in 1950 and submitted to the UN General Assembly in 1950 published in Yearbook of the ILC, 1950, vol. II. (A/CN, 4/22.). 7 The task of preparing a draft Code on crimes against the peace and security of mankind was assigned to the Commission by the General Assembly already in 1947 by GA res. 177(II) simultaneously with the requirement to formulate the Nuremberg principles; In 1954, the Commission adopted Draft Code of Offenses against the Peace and Security of Mankind with comments (text see: Yearbook of the International Law Commission, 1954, vol. II.). 8 The General Assembly has by the GA resolution. 36/106 of 10. 12. 1981 called upon the Commission to continue to work on the drafting of the Code. 9 First it led to the new draft of the Code on Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind with Commentaries (1996); draft text see Yearbook of the International Commission, 1996, vol. II (Part two); this draft then became the basis of the draft statute of the International Criminal Court adopted at the conference of plenipotentiaries of States (17. 7. 1998) and was open for signature and ratification. 10 The Rome Statute entered into force on 1. 7. 2002 after the required sufficient number of ratifications were deposited, and in accordance with the provisions of its Statute.

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