Key Points
• International Law Commission is a UN body.
• International Law Commission consists of 34 members
• Members of International Law Commission are elected by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) every five years.

Professor Bimal Patel, Vice-Chancellor, Rashtriya Raksha University and Member of National Security Advisory Board of India, has been elected to the International Law Commission, a UN body of legal experts, for a five-year term starting January 1, 2023.

Patel topped the Asia-Pacific group with 163 votes in the UN General Assembly out of 192 members present and voting on November 12, 2021. The group included candidates from China, South Korea and Japan. In the Asia-Pacific group, there were 11 strong candidates vying for 8 seats, making the election hotly contested.

Patel has a professional career of more than three decades, Parel has donned several roles including a member of the 21st Law Commission of India and the Director at the Gujarat National Law University.

The International Law Commission was established by the General Assembly in 1947 to undertake the mandate of the Assembly to “initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification”

International Law Commission consists of 34 members recognized for their expertise and qualifications in international law, who are elected by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) every five years.