Office of the Historian

IO files, US/A/3603

United States Delegation Position Paper

confidential
[New York,] September 28, 1953.

Elections to International Law Commission

the problem

The terms of all fifteen members of the International Law Commission expire this year. Under the Commission’s Statute, the General Assembly is to elect a new membership at the Eighth Session of the General Assembly. The new terms will be for three years. No two members of the Commission may be nationals of the same country. The Commission’s Statute provides that the members shall “individually possess the qualifications required” and that, in the Commission as a whole, “representation of the main forms of civilization and of the principal legal systems of the world” shall be assured. Candidates for election to the Commission are nominated by the governments of United Nations members.

recommendation

1)
The United States present position is to support the following candidates:
  • Professor J. P. A. Francois (Dutch)
  • Ambassador Hsu Shu-hsi (Chinese)
  • Faris Bey el-Khouri (Syrian)
  • Professor Hersch Lauterpacht (British)
  • Mr. Justice Thado Maha Thray Sithu Myint Thein (Burmese)
  • Dr. Radhabinod Pal (Indian)
  • Judge John J. Parker (American)
  • Mr. Justice A. E. F. Sandstrom (Swedish)
  • Professor Georges Scelle (French)
  • Professor Jean Spiropoulos (Greek)
2)
The United States should support four Latin American candidates. In the absence of overriding circumstances, the United States should support the four Latin American candidates which have the [Page 509] majority support of the Latin Americans. If a Guatemalan should be the choice of the Latin Americans, the Delegation should immediately consult the Department.
3)
The United States vote in regard to a candidate from the USSR for the remaining one seat is still under consideration.

discussion

Commission members are eligible for reelection, and of the ten candidates listed under paragraph (1) of the Recommendation eight have been members of the Commission. Owing to his ill health, Professor Hudson was not nominated by the United States for reelection. The United States nominated Judge Parker and will support and vote for him. Because of the underrepresentation of the Far East on the Commission, the slate which has been recommended includes Justice Myint Thein of Burma for the seat now occupied by Mr. Jaroslav Zourek of Czechoslovakia.

There are presently four Latin Americans on the ILC, but several more than four Latin American candidates have been nominated. The United States expects to vote for four Latin American candidates, and the Latin American delegations may be so informed. Before determining which four candidates, the United States would wish to know the choices of the Latin American caucus.

The United States vote with regard to the candidate from the USSR has not yet been decided. Mr. F. I. Kozhevnikov of the USSR, who has been a member of the Commission, has been renominated.

The slate recommended in this paper cannot be considered as final, since we do not now have a list of all the nominations which may be before the General Assembly this fall. In addition, the United States will wish to know the views of other delegations to the Assembly before coming to a final decision on the complete slate.