Vietnam has its first candidate for the International Law Commission.

Vietnam has for the first time had a candidate running for one of the seven membership positions of the International Law Commission allocated to the Asia-Pacific region.

This is a very prestigious international legal forum, the body that drafts important international conventions, including the 1958 Convention on the Law of the Sea.

In addition, the International Law Commission conducts research on major issues of international law - the law of relations between states.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Thao in his capacity as Vietnamese Ambassador to Malaysia. (Photo: Kim Dung-Chi Giap/Vietnam+)

In February 2016, the campaign for Associate Professor, Doctor, Ambassador Nguyen Hong Thao to run for the above agency was officially launched after the Vietnamese Delegation to the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and other international organizations in Geneva sent a diplomatic note introducing him to the Delegations of other countries.

The Commission is a specialized agency of the United Nations, with 34 members elected by UN member states every five years. The experts on the Commission operate independently of the countries that nominate them.

The election is expected to take place at the United Nations General Assembly session in late 2016.

Members of the International Law Commission are usually professors, diplomats, and famous jurists with experience in researching, teaching, and practicing international law. Members of the International Law Commission are distributed geographically according to the principle that no two members have the same nationality, with the Asia-Pacific region electing seven members.

The International Law Commission was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1947 to carry out the General Assembly's mandate of conducting research and making recommendations to promote the progressive development and codification of international law.

Elections to the International Law Commission are typically highly competitive. Current members of the International Law Commission represent the Asia-Pacific region from six countries: China, Japan, South Korea, India, Thailand and Indonesia.

Regarding Ambassador Nguyen Hong Thao, he is an expert in international law with a solid academic background and rich practical experience. He was Deputy Chairman of the National Border Committee, Head of the delegation negotiating border agreements with Vietnam's neighboring countries, legal advisor for the draft of the 2012 Vietnam Law of the Sea...

He has 40 years of experience in diplomacy, serving as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Malaysia (2011-2014) and is now Ambassador to Kuwait (since 2014).

Many Vietnamese representatives have made significant contributions to the research and practice of international law, such as the late Vietnamese-American professor Nguyen Quoc Dinh, lawyer Ngo Ba Thanh, and diplomat Ton Nu Thi Ninh. However, this is the first time Vietnam has introduced a candidate to participate in an important international legal forum such as the International Law Commission.

The nomination of Ambassador Nguyen Hong Thao as a candidate for the above Commission demonstrates Vietnam's desire to contribute to the progressive development and codification of international law, implementing Vietnam's policy of proactive and active international integration./.For the first time, Vietnam has a candidate for the International Law Commission.

According to Vietnamplus