The International Law Commission 1949-1998: Volume 3 - Final Draft Articles and other Material

The International Law Commission is the UN body principally responsible for the codification and development of international law. It first met in 1949 and held its fiftieth session in 1998. This is the third of a three volume set which will mark the ILC's fiftieth anniversary. The set will bring together, on a topic-by-topic basis and in a readily accessible form, the complete final product of the Commission's work throughout its first half century of existence, namely:-

• the final draft Articles (or other final reports) prepared by the Commission
• its Commentaries on those draft Articles
• and in those cases where a treaty has been concluded on the basis of the Commission's draft Articles, the text of that treaty

The Commission's drafts, together with its Commentaries are - as the International Court of Justice has often confirmed - not only very relevant for the development of customary international law but essential to a proper understanding of the treaties concluded on the basis of the Commission's drafts. The treaties, which establish a large part of the framework of modern international law and relations, cover such subjects as:-

• the law of the sea (1958),
• diplomatic and consular relations (1961 and 1963),
• the law of treaties (1969),
• State succession (1978 and 1983),
• watercourses (1997),
• and, most recently, the International Criminal Court (1998).

In this collection, the Commission's work on each topic and any resulting treaty text is prefaced by an authoritative introductory note placing the Commission's work within its historical and legal context, together with a summary of the Commission's work on the topic, and a select bibliography.