The UN International Law Commission in 2025: A Conversation

Speaker: Professor Martins Paparinskis (UCL)
Chair: Dr Megan Donaldson (UCL)

About the talk

Since its creation in 1947, the United Nations International Law Commission (ILC) has contributed in important ways to the development of public international law as we know it. The ILC has taken up foundational issues of sources, subjects, responsibility, and disputes, as well as more specialist questions of law of the sea, diplomatic and consular law, international criminal law, and international environmental law. Although ILC members serve as experts in their own right, the ILC's work on both 'codification' and 'progressive development' involves intensive research, deliberation and engagement with governments under the auspices of the United Nations, reflecting a conception of international law that is genuinely universal. 

Please join us to hear from a current ILC member about the institution and its ongoing role in international law. The conversation will touch on how the institution functions, its major contributions in the last year, including on sea-level rise, general principles of law, and immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction. It will also reflect on why the Commission’s work remains vital even as – particularly when -- many aspects of the international legal order are under pressure. 

About the speaker:

Professor Martins Paparinskis is Professor of Public International Law at UCL Laws. He is a member of the International Law Commission and Special Rapporteur on compensation for the damage caused by internationally wrongful acts, and was its Chair in 2025.