Editing International Law Commission (section)

=== 1950s sessions ===
;* 2nd session, 1950
The '''2nd session''' was held in [[Geneva]] from June 5 to July 29, 1950.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://legal.un.org/ilc/sessions/2/|title=International Law Commission|website=legal.un.org}}</ref> The chairman of that session was [[Georges Scelle]]. The agenda and the final resolutions of the session were as follows:
* '''Original item''': Report of the 1st session and the draft declaration on the rights and duties of states, both of which were now approved by the General Assembly. '''Decision''': the commission took note of that without taking further action.
* '''Original item''': The General Assembly recommendation to give priority to the issue of territorial waters. '''Decision''': the commission accepted the recommendation.
* '''Original item''': Formulation of the [[Nuremberg Principles]] and the draft code of crimes against the peace and security of mankind. '''Decision''': the commission formulated a set of seven principles to be referred to as "Nuremberg Principles", dealing with responsibility of states and individuals in cases of crimes against humanity being committed. 
* '''Original item''': The desirability and possibility of establishing an international court to try political leaders guilty of genocide. '''Decision''': the commission passed resolutions to the effect that the creation of such a court was desirable and possible. However, the creation of such a court was postponed until further discussions. 
* '''Original item''': Law of treaties. '''Decision''': the commission postponed decisions until further study.
* '''Original item''': Arbitral procedure between states. '''Decision''': the commission was unable to reach an agreement on compulsory arbitration procedures, and the issue was postponed until further consideration.
* '''Original item''': Regime of the high seas. '''Decision''': the commission determined that every ship on the high seas must have only one nationality flag for identification purposes. However, it was unable to agree on the rest of the issues relating to the regime of the high seas. 
* '''Original item''': Ways of making texts of international law more available. '''Decision''': the commission recommended that wide distribution be made of UN publications on international law and that the UN begin publications of documentary series on international tribunals and national laws and constitutions of various states. In addition, the commission recommended to the General Assembly to formulate an international convention to regulate the exchange of legal publications between governments.
* '''Original item''': Right of asylum. '''Decision''': the commission decided to postpone any deliberations on the subject, since the issue was under discussion by the International Court of Justice. 
* '''Original item''': Cooperation of the commission with other UN agencies, governments and other national and international organizations.
* '''Original item''': Date and place of the 3rd session. '''Decision''': the commission decided it should be held in Geneva for a maximum period of 12 weeks starting from May 1951.

The conduct of the 2nd session was influenced by the East-West rift resulting from the [[Cold War]]. Already at the first meeting of that session, the Soviet member Koretsky protested that the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC) was not represented on the commission, claiming it represented the Chinese people and not the [[Republic of China]] (ROC), now ruling in [[Taiwan]] only. He demanded the Chinese member of the commission be replaced by a member from mainland China. Commission chairman Scelle opposed the Soviet demand, claiming that each member represented his own legal views rather than any government position. The commission accepted Hudson's position by the vote of 10 to 1, and Koretsky in protest left the session without attending any further meetings.<ref>''Yearbook of the ILC, 1950'', vol. 1, pp. 1–2</ref> A letter of protest by the PRC government against the representation of the ROC at the commission was presented to the commission on June 8, but no further action was taken in that regard.

;* 3rd session, 1951
The '''3rd session''' was held in Geneva from May 16 to July 27, 1951. The agenda of the session was as follows:
* '''Item''': General Assembly recommendations for revisions of the commission's statute. '''Decision''': the commission made a partial report on the matter. 
* '''Item''': The draft code of offenses against the peace of mankind. '''Decision''': the commission formulated a draft. 
* '''Item''': Duties of states in the event of the outbreak of hostilities. '''Decision''': the commission decided to proceed with a definition of aggression in general terms. 
* '''Item''': Law of treaties. '''Decision''': the commission made a series of recommendations regarding the acceptance of reservations to multilateral treaties. 
* '''Item''': Arbitral procedure. 
* '''Item''': Regime of the high seas. '''Decision''': the issue was postponed until further study. 
* '''Item''': Date and place of the 4th session. '''Decision''': the commission decided to hold the next session in Geneva for a period of ten weeks, starting from around June 1. 
* '''Item''': Draft international convention or conventions for the elimination of statelessness. '''Decision''': the issue was postponed until further study. 
* '''Item''': Cooperation by the commission with other bodies. '''Decision''': no definite decision was made. 
* '''Item''': Development of a 20-year program for achieving peace through the United Nations. '''Decision''': no definite decision was made.
* '''Item''': General Assembly comments on the report of the 2nd session.

The conduct of the session was influenced by other international events, as the Syrian representative [[Faris El-Khouri]] was absent from the early meetings due to UN deliberations of Syrian complaints against [[Israel]].

;* 4th session, 1952
The '''4th session''' was held in Geneva from June 4 to August 8, 1952.

Much of the session was dedicated to the issue of arbitral procedure, on which the commission adopted a preliminary draft, consisting of 32 articles.

;* 5th session, 1953
The '''5th session''' was held in Geneva from June 1 to August 14, 1953.

As was done at the opening meeting of the 2nd session, also at this session, the Soviet representative [[Feodor I. Kozhevnikov]] demanded to dismiss the representative of the ROC and appoint a representative of the PRC in his place. The motion was denied this time as well, but the Soviet member did not walk out on the session as was done in 1950.

The commission began work on drafting a convention to reduce the problem of statelessness.

;* 6th session, 1954
The '''6th session''' was held in [[Paris]] from June 3 to July 28, 1954.

At the opening of the session, the chairman of [[UNESCO]] expressed greeting to the commission for holding a session at the seat of the organization.

The commission formulated a draft convention for the reduction of statelessness and a draft code of crimes against the peace of mankind.

;* 7th session, 1955
The '''7th session''' was held in Geneva from May 2 to July 8, 1955.

The commission adopted ''Provisional articles concerning the regime of the high seas'', which stipulated among other things, that the high seas do not belong to any country and cannot be controlled by any government.<ref>''Yearbook of the ILC, 1955'', vol. 2, p. 21</ref> It also decided to request the UN Secretary General to start regular publication of the commission's sessions in order to make them available for the public. This decision led to General Assembly resolution 987, which paved the way to orderly publication of the commission's yearbook.<ref>''Yearbook of the ILC, 1949'', p. v</ref>

;* 8th session, 1956
The '''8th session''' was held in Geneva from April 23 to July 4, 1956.

The session's agenda consisted of the following items:
* Regime of the high seas
* The territorial waters of countries having access to the sea
* The law of treaties, which means the creation of uniform rules for the negotiation, formulation, signature and implementation of treaties
* Diplomatic practices 
* Consular practices
* State responsibility<ref>''Yearbook of the ILC, 1956'', vol. 2, p. 253.</ref>

The commission began consideration of the law of treaties. In this regard, it considered the report of its special rapporteur [[Gerald Fitzmaurice]],<ref>''Yearbook of the ILC, 1956'', vol. 2, pp. 104–128.</ref> but no decision was arrived at.<ref>''Yearbook of the ILC, 1956'', vol. 2, p. 301.</ref> This first debate on the law of treaties eventually led to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties in 1969.

;* 9th session, 1957
The '''9th session''' was held in Geneva from April 23 to June 28, 1957.

;* 10th session, 1958
The '''10th session''' was held in Geneva from April 28 to July 4, 1958.

;* 11th session, 1959
The '''11th session''' was held in Geneva from April 20 to June 26, 1959.