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Amsterdam Centre for European Law and Governance null

Confirming and Contesting International Law: The European Union and the United Nations International Law Commission

17 February 2023

How has the European Union engaged with the work of the United Nations International Law Commission (ILC) and what does this engagement tell us about the EU’s own understanding of its relationship with, and contribution to, public international law? Teresa Cabrita’s PhD, defended on the 11th of January, answers this question. Below, she gives a brief overview of what led her to this question, its implications for both EU and international law, and some of her conclusions.

The starting point

Back in 2018, the International Law Commission – a UNGA subsidiary body entrusted with the codification and progressive development of rules of public international law – celebrated its 70th anniversary. During these celebrations, the former President of the International Court of Justice noted that ‘the work of the ILC demonstrates a willingness to reflect the international community in all its multifaceted splendour’. This got me thinking about whether this ‘multifaced splendour’ included the European Union and, importantly, about what the EU itself has had to say about the work of the ILC.

Specifically, I was interested to find out whether the EU’s statements concerning the work of the ILC might shed some light on EU actors’ own understanding of a particular EU external relations objective: the EU’s ambition to contribute not only to the strict observance of international law but also to its development.

The thesis 

In a nutshell, my thesis examines all the statements ever made by the EU at the UNGA Sixth Committee (Legal) in New York concerning ILC annual reports, since the 1970s to the present days. It combines doctrinal and empirical research to show how the EU’s engagement with the ILC has evolved into an established practice of dialogue between EU and international lawyers, led by the Legal Service of the European Commission.

The thesis examines EU statements on eleven topics of public international law studied by the ILC in the last fifty years, from the law of treaties to the responsibility of international organisations, the protection of persons in the event of disasters and the protection of the atmosphere. The aim was to find out how the relationship between EU and international law, and the claim that the EU contributes to the latter’s development, has been articulated by EU lawyers in their interactions with the ILC.

One of my main conclusions is that, while the narrative of EU autonomy developed by the Court of Justice of the European Union still plays an important role in how EU actors explain the relationship between EU and public international law, the EU’s engagement with the ILC also attests to the importance that international law holds for the EU. This engagement has, in particular, been essential in rendering visible the different ways in which EU practices might contribute to the (trans)formation of rules of public international law.