Special aspects of the UN International Law Commission activities in the formation of legal basis for international law of disasters

The article deals with the analysis of the UN International Law Commission activity in one of the areas of legal norms development. In 2006 the announced area was "Protection of people in case of disasters". The author analyses annual reports of both the Commission and its special spokesman where they pointed out definite rules of behavior within the framework of draft Articles. A special reporter was Eduardo Valencia-Osina who based his conclusions on the analysis of current international norms and national legislations of some countries. All in all there were 8 reports, including a preliminary report of the UN International Law Commission. The latter contains a general analysis of current international norms in the sphere of disasters on the universal, regional and bilateral levels. Speaking about bilateral agreements between different countries, it is necessary to mention that the Russian Federation is a part of only some of them. The author shows both positive and negative aspects of characteristics of the rules proposed by a special reporter; gives some practical recommendations; examines the problems of the entrenchment of special principles, the mechanism of rendering assistance, obligations and liability of states in case of disasters. The article deals with the application of the concept of liability and the concept of fragmentation of international law. In conclusion, the fact that the Commission paid attention to disasters, examined current international legal relations in the sphere of disasters and developed a codified agreement indicates that a separate branch of international law- international law of emergencies (disasters) is being actively developed.

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