This book continues the three-volume series edited by Sir Arthur Watts and published in 1999 and 2000. It contains the final product of the International Law Commission (ILC)'s work over the decade 1999-2009. The ILC's work is frequently cited by international and national courts, by governments, practitioners, and academic authors.

The present volume includes the full text - and commentaries where applicable - of ILC texts adopted during the period under review, on such important topics as State responsibility, diplomatic protection, nationality in relation to the succession of States, unilateral acts of States, the fragmentation of international law, as well as several topics relevant to international environmental law, including prevention of transboundary harm from hazardous activities, international liability in case of loss from transboundary harm arising out of hazardous activities, and the law of transboundary aquifers. It further updates the existing series with the inclusion of a chapter on the United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and their Property.

Each text is accompanied by an authoritative introduction, a note on the preparatory work, and a carefully selected bibliography.