CYIL vol. 15 (2024)

CYIL 15 ȍ2024Ȏ THE NONǧLEGALLY BINDING INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS AND OTHER TOPICS … THE NON-LEGALLY BINDING INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS AND OTHER TOPICS ON THE PROGRAMME OF THE INTERNATIONAL LAW COMMISSION Pavel Šturma * 1. Introduction In 2024, the UN International Law Commission met in Geneva at its 75 th session. At first sight, the anniversary of the creation of this subsidiary body of the General Assembly entrusted with the progressive development of international law and its codification would be an occasion for a commemorative event or even a celebration. However, unlike in 2018, when the Commission commemorated its 70th anniversary with two special events (first in May 2018 in New York, then in July 2018 in Geneva), 1 this year the celebration of the anniversary was more modest. It may be, inter alia , due to the financial crisis of the United Nations. In accordance with GA resolution 78/108 of 7 December 2023, the International Law Commission was scheduled to hold its seventy-fifth session at the United Nations Office in Geneva (UNOG) from 15 April to 31 May and from 1 July to 2 August 2024 (12 weeks). However, in light of the ongoing financial crisis, the session was held from 29 April to 31 May and from 1 July to 2 August 2024 (10 weeks). In these circumstances, the commemoration was limited to one afternoon side event, organized at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva on 24 May 2024. 2 At its first meeting, on 29 April 2024, the Commission elected the Chairpersons of the ILC and other officers of the Bureau of the seventy-fifth session. 3 During its current session, the Commission also had to fill two casual vacancies that occurred because of resignation of Mr. Bogdan Aurescu (Romania) and Mr. Huikang Huang (China). The ILC organized the elections respectively on 1 May and 31 July 2024 and elected Ms. Alina Orosan and Mr. Xinmin Ma. It is worth noting that both candidates were nominated by the governments of the same countries (Romania and China) as the former members. Although the candidates for regular elections as well as casual vacancies have to belong to the same regional groups, there is no requirement that the vacant post following the resignation of one member should be filled by the national of the same Member State. Indeed, it was not always the case in the past. One can ask the question whether this is a good precedent. * Prof. JUDr. Pavel Šturma, DrSc., is professor at the Department of International Law, Faculty of Law, Charles University in Prague, senior research fellow at the Institute of Law of the Czech Academy of Sciences, President of the Czech Society of International Law and a former member of the UN International Law Commission. He is a co-author of the textbook Public International Law and author of many publications on codification of international law, international criminal law, human rights and international investment law. 1 See the publication issued on this occasion, Seventy Years of the International Law Commission: Drawing a Balance for the Future (edited by the UN), Leiden: Brill, 2021. 2 See https://legal.un.org/ilc/sessions/75/pdfs/english/75programme.pdf. 3 Chairperson: Mr. Marcelo Vázquez-Bermúdez (Ecuador), First Vice-Chairperson: Mr. Mārtinš Paparinskis (Latvia), Second Vice-Chairperson: Ms. Vilawan Mangklatanakul (Thailand), Chair of the Drafting Committee: Ms. Phoebe Okowa (Kenya), Rapporteur: Ms. Penelope Ridings (New Zealand).

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