Strasbourg, 21 May 1997 Restricted
CM(97)94
For consideration at the 595th meeting
of the Ministers' Deputies
(12-13 June 1997, A level, item 10.3)
COMMITTEE OF LEGAL ADVISERS
ON PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW
(CAHDI)
13th meeting, Strasbourg, 4-5 March 1997
List of items discussed and decisions taken See footnote 1
1. The Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law (CAHDI) held its 13th meeting on 4 and 5 March 1997 in Strasbourg. The list of participants and the agenda appear in Appendices I and II respectively.
2. The Committee held an exchange of views on the following issues in particular: preparations for the first of the regular conferences on the implementation of international instruments protecting the victims of armed conflicts, the law and practice relating to reservations to treaties, the draft Statute of a Permanent International Criminal Court, the work of the International Law Commission and its links with the CAHDI, and the United Nations Decade of International law from 1990 to 1999.
3. At its 13th meeting, the CAHDI adopted two draft recommendations:
- the draft Recommendation on debts of diplomatic missions, permanent missions and diplomatic missions with "double accreditation" , as well as those of their members (see Addendum I);
- the draft Recommendation on the amended model plan for the classification of documents concerning State practice in the field of public international law (see Addendum II).
4. Regarding the first of the regular conferences on the implementation of recommendations concerning the implementation of international instruments protecting the victims of armed conflicts, the delegate of Switzerland informed the CAHDI that it will take place in Geneva for a period of one week in January 1998. The meeting of the Swiss authorities with members of the group of ambassadors known as the "Group of 24", which it had become usual to consult on subjects relating to the protection of victims of armed conflicts, had taken place on 17 February 1997. As to the subjects which might be placed on the agenda of this first regular conference, the delegate of Switzerland informed the CAHDI that, at the meeting on 17 February 1997, the Swiss authorities and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had proposed the four following themes:
a. armed conflicts linked with the breakdown of state structures, ie conflicts termed "unstructured";
b. protection of members of humanitarian organisations;
c. prevention and punishment of offences against international humanitarian law at national level;
d. cessation of the applicability of international humanitarian law.
Two of these four themes would be selected for the January 1998 Conference.
5. The CAHDI held an exchange of views on the law and practice relating to reservations to treaties, in particular the questions of objection to reservations, inadmissibility of reservations and the erga omnes effect of inadmissibility. In this connection, it was suggested that a working party be set up and, if appropriate, instructed to consider the question in detail. A decision in the matter would be taken at the 14th meeting.
6. The CAHDI took note of the discussions held during the third session (10-21 February 1997) of the Preparatory Committee responsible for examining the draft Statute of a permanent international criminal court, and of the Resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on the convening of a Diplomatic Conference on this subject in 1998.
7. The CAHDI held an exchange of views on the activities and working methods of the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly of the United Nations and the International Law Commission (ILC). The CAHDI stressed the need to maintain close co-operation with the ILC.
8. The CAHDI took note of material from 14 countries which had been assembled as part of the Pilot Project on the collection and dissemination of documentation on State practice relating to State succession and issues of recognition for the period 1989-94. The CAHDI agreed that the Council of Europe would act as a clearing centre until the next meeting, when a decision would be reached about transferring the material to another agency which would process the collected documentation.
9. The CAHDI decided to hold its next meeting in Strasbourg on 9 and 10 September 1997.
ANNEXE I / APPENDIX I
LISTE DES PARTICIPANTS / LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
ANDORRE/ANDORRA : Mlle Patricia QUILLACQ, Représentation Permanente de la Principauté d'Andorre auprès du Conseil de l'Europe, STRASBOURG
AUTRICHE/AUSTRIA : Mr Franz CEDE, Ministère fédéral des Affaires Etrangères, WIEN
BELGIQUE/BELGIUM : Mme R. FOUCART, M. Jan DEVADDER, Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, BRUXELLES
BULGARIE/BULGARIA : M. Aliocha Ivanov NEDELTCHEV, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SOFIA
CROATIE/CROATIE : Mr Stanko NICK, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ZAGREB
REPUBLIQUE TCHEQUE/CZECH REPUBLIC: Mr Jirí PAVLÍCEK, Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the Council of Europe, Strasbourg
DANEMARK/DENMARK : Mr Laurids MIKAELSEN, Mr Marcus Nicolas RUBIN, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, COPENHAGEN
ESTONIE/ESTONIA : Mr Aino LEPIK, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, TALLINN
FINLANDE/FINLAND : Mr Holger ROTKIRCH, Mr Erkki KOURULA, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, HELSINKI
FRANCE : M. Marc PERRIN DE BRICHAMBAUT, M. Jean-Marie MAGNIEN, Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, PARIS
ALLEMAGNE/GERMANY : Mr Reinhard HILGER, Auswärtiges Amt, BONN
GRECE/GREECE : Ms Phani DASCALOPOULOU-LIVADA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ATHENS
HONGRIE/HUNGARY : Mr Árpád PRANDLER, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, BUDAPEST
IRLANDE/IRELAND : Ms Alpha CONNELLY, Department of Foreign Affairs, DUBLIN
ITALIE/ITALY : Mme Ida CARACCIOLO, Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, ROME
LETTONIE/LATVIA : Mr Raimonds JANSONS, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, RIGA
MALTE/MALTA : Mr Lawrence QUINTANO, The Attorney General's Office, VALLETTA CMR0Z
PAYS-BAS/NETHERLANDS : Mr Adriaan BOS, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, THE HAGUE
NORVEGE/NORWAY : Mr Hans Wilhelm LONGVA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, OSLO
POLOGNE/POLAND : M. Tomasz Leszek WASILEWSKI, Ms Halina OGNIK, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, WARSAW
PORTUGAL : M. José Maria TEIXEIRA LEITE MARTINS, Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, LISBONNE
ROUMANIE/ROMANIA : M. Tudor MIRCEA, Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, BUCAREST
FEDERATION DE RUSSIE/FEDERATION OF RUSSIA : M. Alexandre KHODAKOV, Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, MOSCOU; M. Kirill GUEVORGUIAN, Ambassade de Russie en France, PARIS;
SAINT-MARIN/SAN MARINO : Mme Laura BOLOGNA, Représentation Permanente de la République de Saint-Matin auprès du Conseil de l'Europe, Strasbourg
REPUBLIQUE SLOVAQUE/SLOVAK REPUBLIC : M. Igor GREXA, Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, BRATISLAVA
SLOVENIE/SLOVENIA: Mr Borut MAHNIC, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, LJUBLJANA
ESPAGNE/SPAIN: M. Jose Antonio PASTOR RIDRUEJO, Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, MADRID; M. Maximiliano BERNAD, Université de Saragosse, ZARAGOZA
SUEDE/SWEDEN : Mr Bertil ROTH, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, STOCKHOLM
SUISSE/SWITZERLAND : M. Lucius CAFLISCH, Mme Evelyne GERBER, Département fédéral des Affaires Etrangères, BERNE
"L'EX-REPUBLIQUE YOUGOSLAVE DE MACEDOINE"/"THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA": Mr Gelev DIMITAR, Faculty of Law, SKOPJE
TURQUIE/TURKEY : Mr Aydin ÖZBAY, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ANKARA
UKRAINE : Mr Olexander F. MOTSYK, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, KYIV
ROYAUME-UNI/UNITED KINGDOM : Ms Shelagh BROOKS, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, LONDON
ALBANIE/ALBANIE, CHYPRE/CYPRUS, ISLANDE/ICELAND, LIECHTENSTEIN, LITUANIE/LITHUANIA, LUXEMBOURG, MOLDOVA: excusés/apologised
COMMISSION DES COMMUNAUTES EUROPEENNES/COMMISSION OF
THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
M. Alessandro IANNIELLO, BRUXELLES
OBSERVATEURS/OBSERVERS
AUSTRALIE/AUSTRALIA : Mr Peter James SHANNON, Australian Embassy, PARIS
AZERBAIDJAN/AZERBAIJAN : Mr Emin EIOUBOV, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, BAKU
SAINT-SIEGE/HOLY SEE : Madame Odile GANGHOFER, 16, rue des Pontonniers, STRASBOURG
JAPON/JAPAN : M. Takeshi GOTO, Consulate General of Japon, STRASBOURG
ETATS-UNIS D'AMERIQUE/UNITED STATES OF AMERICA : Mr Robert E. DALTON, Department of State, WASHINGTON
ORGANISATION DE COOPERATION ET DE DEVELOPPEMENT ECONOMIQUES / ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT :
M. Christian SCHRICKE, PARIS
ORGANISATION DU TRAITE DE L'ATLANTIQUE NORD / NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANISATION : M. Baldwin DE VIDTS, BRUXELLES
ARMENIE/ARMENIA, CANADA, NOUVELLE-ZELANDE/NEW ZEALAND, CONFERENCE DE LA HAYE DE DROIT INTERNATIONAL PRIVE/THE HAGUE CONFERENCE ON PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW: excusés/apologised
SECRETARIAT
Direction des Affaires Juridiques: Mme Margaret KILLERBY, Chef de la Division de Droit Privé et International, Mme Marta REQUENA, Administratice, Secrétaire du Comité, M. Jean CLAUS, Assistant administratif principal, Co-Secrétaire du Comité
AGENDA
1. Opening of the meeting
2. Adoption of the agenda
3. Statement by the Secretariat
General questions of international law
4. State succession
5. Jurisdictional immunities of States, diplomats and their property
6. The role of the depositaries of treaties: computerised data on treaties and access via Internet
a. Council of Europe
b. Other depositaries
7. Implementation of international instruments protecting the victims of armed conflicts
8. The law and practice relating to reservations to treaties: objection, inadmissibility and erga omnes effect
9. Legal aspects in public international law of the provisions of the Dayton and Paris Agreements with which the Council of Europe is associated
United Nations
10. Draft Statute of a Permanent International Criminal Court (PICC)
11. Implementation and functioning of the Tribunals established by UN Security Council Resolutions 827 (1993) and 955 (1994)
12. The work of the General Assembly of the United Nations
- Preparation of the 52nd Session
13. The United Nations Decade of International Law from 1990 to 1999
a. Amended model plan for the classification of documents concerning State practice in the field of public international law
b. Transfer to another body of the documents concerning the pilot project on the collection and dissemination of documentation on State practice relating to State succession and issues of recognition
Europe
14. Current developments in international law in Europe
a. The Council of Europe and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe
b. The OSCE
15. Date, place and agenda of the 14th meeting of the CAHDI
16. Any other business
APPENDIX III
DRAFT AGENDA OF THE 14th MEETING OF THE CAHDI
(Strasbourg, 9-10 September 1997)
1. Opening of the meeting
2. Adoption of the agenda
3. Statement by the Secretariat
General questions of international law
4. State succession
6. The role of the depositaries of treaties: computerised data on treaties and access via Internet
a. Council of Europe
b. Other depositaries
7. Implementation of international instruments protecting the victims of armed conflicts
*8. The law and practice relating to reservations to treaties: objection, inadmissibility and erga omnes effect
United Nations
*10. Draft Statute of a Permanent International Criminal Court (PICC)
11. Implementation and functioning of the Tribunals established by UN Security Council Resolutions 827 (1993) and 955 (1994)
*12. The Work of the General Assembly of the United Nations: activities and working methods of the Sixth Committee and the International Law Commission (ILC)
*13. The United Nations Decade of International Law from 1990 to 1999:
- Transfer to another body of the documents concerning the Pilot Project on the collection and dissemination of documentation on State practice relating to State succession and issues of recognition
Europe
14. Recent developments in international law in Europe
a. The Council of Europe and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe
b. The OSCE
15. Election of the Chair and the Vice-Chair for one year as from the 15th meeting of the CAHDI
16. Date, place and agenda of the 15th meeting of the CAHDI
17. Other business
- Centennial of the first International Peace Conference and closure of the United Nations Decade of International Law
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* Items intended for substantial discussion are marked with an asterisk.
Footnote: 1 The detailed report of the meeting (document CAHDI (97) 5) may be obtained from the Directorate of Legal Affairs.