10 December 1981

Review of the multilateral treaty-making process

The General Assembly,

Bearing in mind that multilateral treaties are an important primary source of international law,

Conscious, therefore, that the process of elaboration of multilateral treaties, directed towards the progressive development of international law and its codification, forms an important part of the work of the United Nations and of the international community in general,

Recalling its resolution 35/162 of 15 December 1980, in which it invited Governments and international organizations to submit their observations on the report of the Secretary-General submitted to the General Assembly at its thirty-fifth session, as well as their comments on any other aspect of the subject,

Aware of the heavy burden which active involvement in the process of multilateral treaty-making places upon Governments,

Convinced that the most rational use should be made of the finite resources available for the elaboration of multilateral treaties,

Taking into account statements made at the current session in the debate in the Sixth Committee,

1. Takes note of the reports of the Secretary-General submitted to the General Assembly at its thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth sessions; including the replies and observations made by Governments and international organizations on the review of the multilateral treaty-making process;

2. Decides, in the light of statements made on this item at the thirty-sixth session of the General Assembly, to establish at the thirty-seventh session a working group of the Sixth Committee:

(a) To consider the questions raised in annex I of the report of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly and any other relevant material submitted by Governments and international organizations;

(b) To assess the methods of multilateral treaty-making used in the United Nations and in conferences convened under its auspices to determine whether the current methods of multilateral treaty-making are as efficient, economical and effective as they could be to meet the needs of the Members of the United Nations;

(c) To make recommendations on the basis of the above-mentioned assessment;

3. Invites Governments and international organizations to submit by 30 June l982 their observations on the reports submitted by the Secretary-General, taking into account the specific questions contained in annex I of the report submitted to the thirty-sixth session as well as their comments on any other aspect of the subject, as they consider desirable;

4. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session a report containing the observations and comments received pursuant to paragraph 3 above;

5. Further requests the Secretary-General to prepare documentation containing the material and information listed in annex II of the 1981 report of the Secretary-General in the form of a provisional version of a volume in the Legislative Series, as well as a topical analysis of the observations and replies received, in time for use by the working group referred to in paragraph 2 above;

6. Also requests the Secretary-General to prepare and publish as soon as possible new editions of the Handbook of Final Clauses and the Summary of the Practice of the Secretary-General as Depositary of Multilateral Agreements, taking into account relevant new developments and practices in that respect;

7. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its thirty-seventh session the item entitled "Review of the multilateral treaty-making process".