The United Nations has greatly expanded its work on the rule of law, from strengthening police services to supporting constitutional processes, but the expansion is still not sufficient to meet the needs of Member States, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said today.

General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim paid tribute to the International Law Commission (ILC) on its sixtieth anniversary today, describing it as “a living testament to the importance that the General Assembly attaches to the progressive development of international law and its codification.”

Bringing all aspects of United Nations support for rule of law – the police, the judiciary and corrections – under the authority of one office not only helps improve efficiency but also ties in with the world body’s longer term goal of building sustainability in a nation’s rule of law sector, the two senior UN officials responsible for this area said today.

The United Nations International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) today ordered Russian authorities to release a Japanese fishing vessel it had detained for alleged illegal fishing in Russian waters but turned down Japan’s application to release a second vessel.