Stephen Vasciannie, Deputy Solicitor General in the Attorney-General's Chambers and professor of the international law at the University of the West Indies, Mona, has been elected to the United Nations International Law Commis-sion (ILC).

In the elections for the Interna- tional Law Commission held recently at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Professor Vasciannie topped the votes among the eight candidates vying for the seven seats from countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region.

Professor Vasciannie received 173 out of a possible 192 votes, well above the 95 votes required for a simple majority, and three votes ahead of the candidate from Brazil. The other successful candidates from the region are from Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia and Chile.

The International Law Commis-sion, which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, is the United Nations body that works on the codification and progressive development of international law. Established in 1947 by the U.N. General Assembly, the commission is composed of 34 experts representing the principal legal systems of the world. Among other things, the International Law Commission prepared the first draft of treaties such as the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court, the Vienna Conven-tion on the Law of Treaties, and the Geneva Conventions on the Law of the Sea.

The members of the commission are elected for a five-year term and serve in their personal capacity as experts. This is the third time that a Jamaican expert is being elected. Judge Patrick Robinson, now at the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and the late Laurel Francis, served on the Commission in previous years.

Professor Vasciannie begins his term on the commission in January 2007.