L/2988*

                                                            WOM/1302

                                                            15 November 2001

HISTORY MADE AS TWO WOMEN ELECTED TO INTERNATIONAL LAW COMMISSION

(Reissued as received.)

NEW YORK, 15 November (DESA) -- On 7 November 2001, Paula Escarameia of Portugal and Xue Hanqin of China became the first women ever elected by the United Nations General Assembly to serve on the 55-year-old International Law Commission.

The International Law Commission was established by the General Assembly in 1947 to promote the progressive development of international law and its codification.  The Commission, which meets annually, is composed of 34 members who are elected by the General Assembly for five-year terms and who serve in their individual capacity, not as representatives of their governments.

Article 8 of the Statute of the International Law Commission provides that persons elected to the Commission should individually possess the qualifications required (that is, recognized competence in international law as stated in

article 2) and that the Commission as a whole should assure representation of the main forms of civilization and of the principal legal systems of the world.

Most of the Commission’s work involves the preparation of drafts on topics of international law.  Some topics are chosen by the Commission itself, and others referred to it by the General Assembly or the Economic and Social Council.  When the Commission completes draft articles on a particular topic, the General Assembly usually convenes an international conference of plenipotentiaries to incorporate the draft articles into a convention which is then open to States to become parties.

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*     Press release L/2988 of 5 October should have been L/2987.