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October 2020
Chair of the Inter-American Juridical Committee delivers annual report to the fiftieth regular session of the OAS General Assembly
The Chair of the
Inter-American Juridical Committee, Luis
García-Corrochano, on Wednesday, October 21,
2020, delivered the OAS advisory body’s usual
annual report on international law to the
plenary of the General Assembly.
The Chair used the opportunity to announce
recent developments in four different areas,
underscoring the wide range of issues on the
Committee's agenda, involving the codification
and progressive development of international
law.
Firstly, he spoke about the “Guide to the Law
Applicable to International Commercial Contracts
in the Americas,” which offers recommendations
for legislators, courts, and parties to a
contract, the aim being bringing about regional
harmonization in this area. This contribution
from the Committee has received regional as well
as global recognition.
The CJI Chair then turned to the “Proposed Model
Law 2.0 on Access to Public Information” that
the Committee had prepared pursuant to an OAS
General Assembly mandate, seeking, among other
things, to make government more transparent;
fight corruption; promote open competition,
investment, and economic growth; and empower
various segments of the population, including
the vulnerable. It was one of the first
international instruments to incorporate gender
mainstreaming into its design, and updated the
2010 Model Law. It should be pointed out that
the Committee’s Proposal was adopted by the
General Assembly, hence the OAS now has in place
a “Model Inter-American Law 2.0 on Access to
Public Information.”
Lastly, Dr. García-Corrochano touched on the
“Guidelines for Binding and Non-binding
Agreements” and the report on “International Law
and State Cyber Operations,” both of which were
adopted by the Committee this past August. The
Guidelines provide a concrete and detailed set
of definitions, points of agreement, and best
practices for states to use in negotiating,
adopting, or implementing different types of
international agreements. On the subject of cybersecurity, the Committee provides the OAS
member states with clear parameters on the
application of international law, to limit the
risks of escalation or unintended conflict. The
General Assembly took note of these two
proposals of the Committee, and with regard to
international law in cyberspace, the General
Assembly for the first time affirmed the
applicability of international law to
cyberspace, in keeping with the Committee’s
declaration on the subject.
Worthy of note is the fact that the General
Assembly has assigned the Department of
International Law – in its capacity as technical
secretariat to the Committee – the task of
disseminating the instruments and reports
adopted by the Committee as widely as possible,
while supporting the efforts of the member
states.
Concluding his report, the Chair urged the
states to participate in the next joint meeting
between the CJI and the legal consultants from
ministries of foreign affairs, scheduled for
August 2021 at its headquarters in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil. He also encouraged them to
check the CJI website to review how the work is
proceeding.
The fiftieth regular session of the General
Assembly elected three new members to the
Committee: Dr. Ramiro Gastón Orías Arrendondo,
of Bolivia; Dr. Cecilia Fresnedo de Aguirre, of
Uruguay; and Dr Stephen G. Larson, of the United
States. They will begin their four-year term on
January 1, 2021.
» The Chair’s presentation is available
from the following
link.
For further information on this subject, contact the OAS Department of International Law (Technical Secretariat to the Inter-American Juridical Committee) at telephone + 1 202 370 0741.
» Additional information on recent developments in the Committee's work can be seen on
this link.
»
For additional information about the Department of International Law (DIL), please visit
our Website.
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