Pavel Šturma for ILC UN 2021

UN International LawCommission 2023 – 2027

Motto:

“The International Law Commission needs to improve its methods of work to live up to new challenges to the codification and progressive development of international law.”

pavel Šturma professor of international law

the candidate of the czech republic for re-election to the international lawcommission (ilc) for the period 2023 – 2027 to be held during the 76 th session of the united nations general assembly.

pavel Šturma Professor

Date of Birth: 1963 Academic qualifications: Professor of International Law Current position: Professor of International Law, Faculty of Law, Charles University Honours: Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite (by the President of the French Republic, 2004)

research, teaching anDother professional experience

 Professor and former Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Law, Head of International Law Dpt., Charles University, Prague  Senior research fellow, Institute of Law, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague  International civil servant, United Nations Office at Vienna (UNDCP)  President of the Czech Society of International Law, Editor-in-chief of the Czech Yearbook of Public & Private International Law  Author and/or co-author of 19 books and more than 180 articles and studies in International & European law, published mainly in Czech but also in English and French, both in the Czech Republic and abroad.

membership anD experience

public legal functions

Member of the International Law Commission (Chair of the Drafting Committee, 2016, First Vice-Chair, 2018, Chair, 2019), Special Rapporteur (since 2017), member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (The Hague), former member of the Legislative Council of the Government of the Czech Republic, member of the Council for Human Rights of the Government of the Czech Republic, former member of the board of external advisers of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, former member of the EU Network of Independent Experts in Fundamental Rights and of the Management Board of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency.

participation in important negotiations, representationof the czech republic

Member of the Czech delegation at the Rome Confe- rence on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (1998), Head of the Czech delegation to the Ad hoc Committee on elaboration of a convention against transnational organized crime (Vienna, 1999-2000), member of the Governmental expert group for negotia- tions with the European Commission on the effects of certain Decrees of President Beneš and their compatibility with acquis communautaire (2002), member of the Czech delegation to the Sixth Committee of the UN General Assembly, New York (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011).

other professional experience

Member of the expert group preparing the position of the Czech Government to the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Bankovic (2000), lawyer admitted to the Czech Bar, pleadings before the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Zehnalova and Zehnal v. Czech Rep. (2002), expert and/or co-counsel in several arbitrations, incl. CSOB v. Slovak Republic, HICEE v. Slovak Republic, etc.

testimonials

"I have known Professor Šturma for over three decades. Holder of the Chair of Public International Law at the prestigious Charles University Law School in Prague, he is a highly motivated and dedicated academic and scholar, combining his research in, and teaching of, international law with its practice, in government, international organizations, and international dispute settlement mechanisms. Professor Šturma, who early on, during his doctoral studies, closely followed and studied the work of the International Law Commission – his PhD dissertation was on International Liability as being codified by the Commission – has now gained practical experience of the Commission’s workings, having been an active member since 2012 and its Chairman in 2019. He has devoted himself fully to the work of the Commission, has actively partici- pated in its work and has made various contributions to the advancement of the progressive development of inter- national law and its codification, in particular as the Special Rapporteur on the topic Succession of States in respect of State responsibility. I have no doubt that the Commission will further benefit from his contributions if he is re-elected for another term."

peter tomka Judge and former president of the international court of Justice

“Having cooperated closely with Professor Pavel Šturma for a number of years, I consider him to be a distinguished scholar who has been able to bring his extensive knowledge of international law into practice during his work for the Government of the Czech Republic, as well as international organizations. Beside numerous other responsibilities and functions, he is currently holder of the Chair of Public International Law at the Charles University Law School in Prague and a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Professor Šturma has been an active member of the International Law Commission since his election in 2011 and, following his re-election in 2016, as the Special Rapporteur for the topic “Succession of States in respect of State responsibility” he has made a substantive contribution to its outcomes. In addition, in his capacity as Chair of the Commission, he successfully steered this important UN organ during the difficult times of COVID-19 pandemics. Taking into account the latest activities of the International Law Commission, it is my opinion that the role of the Commission is changing. As the key branches of international law are codified, there is a low demand of States for the creation of new treaties. Nevertheless, this development does not make the Commission any less important, quite the opposite. The Commission has entered a new phase of its existence when its outcomes will include – besides draft articles – various guidelines, draft principles and studies on current international law issues. Furthermore, the activities of the Commission comprise the areas of international law that have not been at the center of its work before, such as human rights, international criminal law and international environmental law. In this context, I believe that Professor Šturma is the right expert for these new tasks of the Commission given his professional background and deep insight into many areas of international law. As such, I am convinced that the re-election of Professor Šturma to the International Law Commission for the term 2023-2027 would serve both the needs of the UN members and the Commission itself.”

petr Válek Director of the international law Department ministry of foreign affairs of the czech republic