Introduction
Established in 1948, the International Law Commission's mandate is the progressive development and codification of international law, in accordance with article 13(1)(a) of the Charter of the United Nations. (more)

Membership
The International Law Commission is constituted of 34 members, elected for a five-year period (quinquennium) sessions. (more)

Sessions
The International Law Commission holds its annual session in Geneva, Switzerland for a period of ten to twelve weeks (as approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations). (more)

Activities
A series of activities are typically held in conjunction with or during the annual session of the Commission. These include annual joint sessions with other expert legal bodies, as well as the holding of the annual Geneva International Law Seminar. (more)

Contacting the Commission
The Commission can be contacted through its Secretariat, the Codification Division of the Office of Legal Affairs, at its New York offices. (more)

Not sure where to start? The Research Guide provides several options for researching the work product of the International Law Commission available on this site.

Consult a summary of the Commission's consideration of a particular topic or research its legislative history in the online Analytical Guide to the Work of the International Law Commission.

Access individual texts, instruments and reports adopted by the Commission together with commentaries.

Research the documentation of the Commission, by session/year or by topic. Access the annual reports of the Commission.