General Principles of Law: The First Debate within the International Law Commission and the Sixth Committee

Abstract

Continuing its work on the sources of international law, the International Law Commission decided, at its seventieth session, to include the topic "General principles of law"in its current programme of work. By taking up the topic, the Commission aims to shed light on various aspects of this source and provide guidance to States, international organizations, courts and tribunals and all others that may be called upon to deal with general principles of law. The present article provides an overview of the first debate on the topic that took place within the International Law Commission and the Sixth (Legal) Committee of the UN General Assembly in 2019, focusing on certain key issues that will be central to the treatment of the topic.