Wars in the territory of the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda sparked the renewed interest of the general public and legal experts alike to create adequate mechanisms to deal with atrocities committed during these conflicts. As a result, two major breakthroughs were accomplished: the tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda were created, and the International Convention on the establishment of the permanent international criminal court was adopted. However, little is known, at least in wider public, about a long and complex process, both political and legal, that preceded these achievements in which the International Law Commission (ILC) played a very important role.

Jeffrey Morton's "The International Law Commission of the United Nations" attempts to review the work of this principal expert body of the General Assembly in the field of progressive development and codification of international law. He concentrates on the evolution of the definition of the term "international crimes" and the results of that debate, the Draft Code of Crimes and the Draft Statute of the International Criminal Code as created by the ILC.

A concise summary of the Commission's work at the outset emphasizes its contribution to the progressive development of international law and presents a detailed account of the process of the establishment of the ILC over the years. Also, the effects of the power struggle between the two opposing political blocks on the international scene, as well as the impact of the decolonization process, are elements that Morton considers important in order to understand fully the modus operandi of the Commission and its results.

The main body of the book is devoted to the ILC's engagement in the field of international criminal law. In the last two decades, especially after the end of the cold war, the ILC dedicated most of its time to this matter, due to the significant political and humanitarian importance of the issue. He draws a line from the early days of the United Nations and the Commission, just after the Nuremberg trials, through possibilities created after the adoption of the definition of aggression in 1974, to international conventions — on genocide and those accepted in subsequent years. Hence, a clear picture is presented concerning legal sources used and principles enshrined in the Draft Code and the Statute. These sources and principles also played an important role during the drafting of the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

The book is useful, interesting, even intriguing, and as such deserves the attention of a wider audience. Perhaps the title should have reflected more the main focus of this analysis: the ILC's efforts in the field of international criminal law. As it stands, the title may lead a prospective reader to conclude that the book covers the whole ILC work, which is not the case.