Over the past several years, members of the Institute have been involved—in some cases instrumental—in the development of standards and guidelines (“soft law”) on a number of contemporary challenges. These documents have in many cases already had significant impacts upon debates—and even practice—in their relevant subject-areas.

The International Law Commission (ILC) is a subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly. It was established in 1947 to undertake the mandate of the Assembly, under article 13 (1) (a) of the Charter, to “initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of… encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification.”