Report of the International Law Commission on the Work of Its 47th Session

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 141 Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its 47th session, published in 1996.

What other versions does this mandate have?

27 versions · 1953–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/164

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/80/164	Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its 76th session	3,121	76%Compare
2024	A/RES/79/121	Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its 75th session	2,857	85%Compare
2023	A/RES/78/108	Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its 74th session	2,747	65%Compare
2019	A/RES/73/265	Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its 70th session	2,790	80%Compare
2017	A/RES/72/116	Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its 69th session	2,421	74%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

2 reports · 2007–2009

Year	Symbol	Title		Mandate resolution
2009	A/64/283	Assistance to special rapporteurs of the International Law Commission report of the Secretary-General		A/RES/63/123
2007	A/62/87	Strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations report of the Secretary-General		A/RES/61/34

What’s in this document?

20 operative paragraphs

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the International Law Commission on the work of its forty-seventh session and of the Commission's efforts to advance the work currently under consideration;

Notes the intentions of the International Law Commission for the programme of work for the last year of office of its members;

Urges the Commission at its forty-eighth session:

To resume the work on the draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind in such a manner that the second reading of the draft Code may be completed at that session;

To resume the work on the draft articles on State responsibility in such a manner that the first reading of that draft may be completed at that session, taking into account the divergent views expressed during the Sixth Committee's debate on the topic, so that alternative approaches may be developed when necessary;

To resume the work on the topic "International liability for injurious consequences arising out of acts not prohibited by international law" in order to complete the first reading of the draft articles relating to activities that risk causing transboundary harm;

Notes the beginning of the work on the topics "The law and practice relating to reservations to treaties" and "State succession and its impact on the nationality of natural and legal persons", and invites the Commission to continue its work on these topics along the lines indicated in the report;

Invites States and international organizations, particularly those which are depositaries, to answer promptly the questionnaire prepared by the Special Rapporteur on the topic concerning reservations to treaties;

Requests the Secretary-General to again invite Governments to submit as soon as possible relevant materials, including treaties, national legislation, decisions of national tribunals and diplomatic and official correspondence relevant to the topic "State succession and its impact on the nationality of natural and legal persons";

Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for the update of the survey of State practice relevant to international liability for injurious consequences arising out of acts not prohibited by international law, prepared by the Secretariat in 1984;⁴

⁴Yearbook of the International Law Commission, 1985, vol. II, part I (addendum).

Notes the suggestions of the International Law Commission to include in its agenda the topic "Diplomatic protection" and initiate a feasibility study on a topic concerning the law of the environment, and decides to invite Governments to submit comments on these suggestions through the Secretary-General for consideration by the Sixth Committee during the fifty-first session of the General Assembly;

Requests the International Law Commission:

To examine the procedures of its work for the purpose of further enhancing its contribution to the progressive development and codification of international law and to include its views in its report to the General Assembly at its fifty-first session;

To continue to pay special attention to indicating in its annual report, for each topic, those specific issues, if any, on which expressions of views by Governments, either in the Sixth Committee or in written form, would be of particular interest in providing effective guidance for the Commission in its further work;

Requests the Secretary-General to invite Governments to comment on the present state of the codification process within the United Nations system and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-first session;

Takes note of the comments of the International Law Commission on the question of the duration of its session, as presented in its report,⁵ and expresses the view that the requirements of the work for the progressive development of international law and its codification and the magnitude and complexity of the subjects on the agenda of the Commission make it desirable that the usual duration of its sessions be maintained;

⁵Official Records of the General Assembly, Fiftieth Session, Supplement No. 10 (A/50/10), para. 513.

Reaffirms its previous decisions concerning the role of the Codification Division of the Office of Legal Affairs of the Secretariat and those concerning the summary records and other documentation of the International Law Commission;

Once again expresses the wish that seminars will continue to be held in conjunction with the sessions of the International Law Commission and that an increasing number of participants from developing countries will be given the opportunity to attend those seminars, appeals to States that can do so to make the voluntary contributions that are urgently needed for the holding of the seminars, and requests the Secretary-General to provide the seminars, from within existing resources, with adequate services, including interpretation, as required;

Requests the Secretary-General to forward to the International Law Commission, for its attention, the records of the debate on the report of the Commission at the fiftieth session of the General Assembly, together with such written statements as delegations may circulate in conjunction with their oral statements, and to prepare and distribute a topical summary of the debate, following established practice;

Recommends that the debate on the report of the International Law Commission at the fifty-first session of the General Assembly commence on 4 November 1996.

Report of the International Law Commission on the Work of Its 47th Session

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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