Sixth Committee (Legal) — 75th session
Responsibility of international organizations (Agenda item 88)
- Authority:
Documentation
- — Report of the Secretary-General on the responsibility of international organizations: Comments and information received from Governments and international organizations
- — Report of the Secretary-General on the responsibility of international organizations: Compilation of decisions of international courts and tribunals
- — Draft resolution
Summary of work
Background (source: )
At its sixty-sixth session, in 2011, the General Assembly, under the item entitled “Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its sixty-third session”, considered chapter V of the report of the Commission, which contained the draft articles on responsibility of international organizations together with a recommendation that the Assembly take note of the draft articles and that it consider, at a later stage, the elaboration of a convention on the basis of the draft articles. The Assembly took note of the articles, the text of which was annexed to resolution , commended them to the attention of Governments and international organizations without prejudice to the question of their future adoption or other appropriate action and decided to include in the provisional agenda of its sixty-ninth session an item entitled “Responsibility of international organizations” (resolution ).
The Assembly considered the item at its sixty-ninth and seventy-second sessions (resolutions and ).
At its seventy-second session, the Assembly allocated the item to the Sixth Committee, where statements in the debate were made by 17 delegations (see ). The Assembly requested the Secretary-General to update the compilation of decisions of international courts, tribunals and other bodies referring to the articles and to invite Governments and international organizations to submit information on their practice in that regard, as well as written comments on any future action regarding the articles, and also requested the Secretary-General to submit that material well in advance of its seventy-fifth session (resolution ).
Consideration at the seventy-fifth session
The Sixth Committee considered the item at its 17th and 19th meetings, on 11 and 19 November 2020, respectively (see and ).
Statements were made by representatives of Singapore, United States of America, El Salvador, Sierra Leone, Israel, Egypt, Portugal, Russian Federation, Cuba, Mexico, Islamic Republic of Iran, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Malaysia and Australia.
In view of the continually increasing importance of international organizations in international relations, several delegations emphasized the importance of the principle of responsibility – that beaches of international obligations must bear consequences – in international law. Delegations generally welcomed the articles on the responsibility of international organizations, as adopted by the International Law Commission in 2011, as a useful tool in addressing internationally wrongful acts by international organizations. Several delegations expressed the view that the articles represent, in many aspects, a proposal for the progressive development of international law, rather than for its codification.
Some delegations additionally took note of the use of the articles by various courts and tribunals. Delegations generally welcomed the updated the compilation of decisions of international courts and tribunals, as well as the comments and information received from Governments and international organizations. Further updates to these reports were requested, and States were urged to share their own relevant practice.
Several delegations favoured the negotiation of a convention on the basis of the articles, with some of them noting that legal certainty would be served by a convention and others stressing the importance that the rules of international law in this area be endorsed by States. A number of other delegations were against the conclusion of a convention at this stage. Among those delegations, some pointed out the need for further discussion and evaluation of the articles and the lack of practice regarding the articles. Open questions in relation to particular provisions in the articles were also raised, particularly those on necessity, countermeasures and self-defence. Other delegations considered that no further action was necessary and that consensus on the topic was unlikely to be reached. The need to find an agreed way forward was noted. Several delegations favoured that the item “Responsibility of international organizations” be kept on the agenda of the General Assembly, while some delegations expressed the view that it should be removed from the agenda.
Summaries of plenary meetings
17th meeting (11 November 2020, 10:00am – 1:00pm) | Summary
19th meeting (19 November 2020, 3:00pm – 6:00pm) | Summary
Action taken by the Sixth Committee
At the 19th meeting, on 19 November 2020, the representative of Brazil, on behalf of the Bureau, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Responsibility of international organizations” (). At the same meeting, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.6/75/L.19 without a vote.
Under the terms of the draft resolution, the General Assembly would, inter alia, request the Secretary-General to update the compilation of decisions of international courts, tribunals and other bodies referring to the articles, and invite Governments and international organizations to submit information on their practice in this regard well in advance of its seventy-eighth session. The Assembly would also decide to include the item in the provisional agenda of its seventy-eighth session, with a view to examining, inter alia, the question of the form that might be given to the articles.
Subsequent action taken by the General Assembly
- Report of the Sixth Committee: ?
- GA resolution:
This agenda item will be considered at the seventy-eighth session (2023).
