On 19 May 2003, the International Law Commission (ILC) adopted 11 draft conclusions on general principles of law, and subsequently added commentaries on the conclusions in its session from 24 to 26 July 2023. The draft conclusions and commentaries were prepared on the basis of three reports by Special Rapporteur Marcelo Vázquez-Bermúdez of Ecuador. By letter of 31 October 2023, the Minister of Foreign Affairs requested the Advisory Committee on Issues of Public International Law to prepare an advisory report on the draft conclusions.

Content

This advisory report will discuss:

  • the general approach adopted by the ILC
  • the positioning of general principles of law within Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice and their relationship to the other primary sources of international law
  • the nature and functions of general principles of law
  • the categories of principles of law distinguished by the ILC
  • the various methods by which general principles of law can be identified.

Government response

The Government response download is a translation of the official government response in Dutch (Kabinetsreactie op CAVV-advies nr. 46 over de ontwerpconclusies van de International Law Commission inzake algemene rechtsbeginselen).