New York, 14 November 2006 – Building on the momentum of the UNSGselection.org campaign, WFM-IGP has begun monitoring a range of other important UN elections and appointments and will advocate for more transparent, democratic, and effective elections in the UN system.

For recent media coverage of UN elections and appointments, see “In the News” on UNSGselection.org

Update on International Law Commission Elections

Background:

The International Law Commission is one of the Expert Bodies of the General Assembly. It exists to codify and promote international law.

The Commission consists of 34 members, who are not States but individuals serving in their personal capacity. States make nominations of their nationals or nationals of other UN Member States. According to the Statute of the International Law Commission (1947), members shall be persons of recognized competence in international law. Frequently they are legal advisors from the foreign ministry of their country.

The election of ILC members is governed by the 1947 Statute. The Secretary-General is asked to communicate the names of candidates and their curricula vitae, if provided, to all Member States. Members are elected in the General Assembly by a majority of the states present and voting – in other words, a simple majority. The membership term is five years, and members are eligible for immediate re-election, with no limits, which means that effective permanent membership on the Commission is possible. No two members may be nationals of the same State.

Geographical distribution of ILC seats is as follows:

African States: 8 seats

Asian States: 7 seats

Eastern European States: 4 seats

Latin American and Caribbean States: 7 seats

Western European and Other States: 8 seats

States must submit names of their candidates by 1 June of the election year. States are allowed “in exceptional circumstances” to substitute a submitted candidate with another individual up until thirty days before the opening of that year’s General Assembly session. This year, that final deadline was 14 August.

Current Election:

The next election will take place on Thursday, 16 November 2006. Some points of interest:

For the 34 available seats, there are 44 candidates from a total of 53 nominating states. The complete list of candidates for election or re-election is below.

• For all regions except for Eastern Europe, there are more candidates than available seats. The four Eastern European candidates, almost certain to be elected to the four available seats, are nationals of Poland, Russia, Romania, and Slovenia. Those from Poland, Russia, and Romania are current members of the Commission.
• Elections on 16 November will determine the members from the other regional groups. The Asian and WEOG contests could be the tightest, as they have several more candidates than seats available.
• Of the 44 candidates for election, 22 currently sit on the Commission. Twelve current members of the Commission have not been re-nominated by any state.

The new or re-elected members’ terms will run from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2012.

Nominations for Members of International Law Commission

(Arranged by region, in alphabetical order of candidate) (Source: http://www.un.org/law/ilc/)

Current members marked with (*)