Asian–African Legal Consultative Organization
The Asian–African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) is an international governmental organization formed in 1956, initially to serve as an advisory board to member states on matters on international law. It was an outgrowth of the Bandung Conference, held in Indonesia during April, 1955, which led to the establishment of the Asian Legal Consultative Committee (ALCC). In April, 1958, it changed its name to the Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee (AALCC) to reflect the growth of its membership beyond the African side of the United Arab Republic. Since 2001, it has been known by its current name, the AALCO, reflecting the growth of its international status; currently an intergovernmental organization having received a standing United Nations invitation to participate as an observer in the sessions and the work of the General Assembly and maintaining a permanent office at Headquarters.
| Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization | |
|  | |
| Headquarters | New Delhi,  India | 
|---|---|
| Official language  | English | 
| Secretary General | Kamalinne Pinitpuvadol (  Thailand) | 
| Website | aalco.int | 
In 2014, the AALCO established an Informal Expert Group on Customary International Law. That group adopted a set of comments on the work of the International Law Commission on identification of customary international law. Those comments and the report of the AALCO Special Rapporteur Sienho Yee are published on the website of the AALCO.[1]
AALCO Regional Centres for International Commercial Arbitration
    
One of the major achievements of AALCO in its programme in the economic field was the launching of its Integrated Scheme for Settlement of Disputes in the Economic and Commercial Transactions in 1978. Pursuant to that Scheme, it was decided to establish Regional Arbitration Centres under the auspices of AALCO, which would function as international institutions with the objectives to promote international commercial arbitration in the Asian-African regions and provide for conducting international arbitrations under these Centres. Five such Centres have been established so far, as below:
- Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC, formerly known as Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration), Malaysia
- Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA), Arab Republic of Egypt
- Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration Lagos (RCICAL), Nigeria
- Tehran Regional Arbitration Centre (TRAC), Islamic Republic of Iran[2]
- Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA), Nairobi, Republic of Kenya
The respective host Governments recognize their independent status like an international organization and have accorded privileges and immunities to these Centres. AALCO provides its expertise and assistance to its Member States in the appointment of arbitrators and other matters related to the conduct of arbitration. Its Centers provide the opportunities for training of arbitrators as well. The Directors of the Centres, who are from amongst lawyers familiar to arbitration, are appointed by suggestion of the host governments and ratification of the Secretary-General of AALCO. Directors of the Centres present their reports on the functioning of the Centres at the Annual Sessions of AALCO.
List of AALCO Secretary-General
    
- Late Mr. Barry Sen (1956-1987)
- Late Mr. Frank X. Njenga (1988-1994)
- Mr. Tang Chengyuan (1994-2000)
- Amb. Dr. Wafik Zaher Kamil (2000-2008)
- Prof. Dr. Rahmat Mohamad (2008-2016)
- H.E. Prof. Dr. Kennedy Gastorn (2016-2020)[3]
- Dr. Kamalinne Pinitpuvadol (2021-present)[4]
Members
    

The current membership includes the following members, with founding members marked with an asterisk (*):
 Bahrain Bahrain
 Bangladesh Bangladesh
 Botswana Botswana
 Brunei Brunei
 Cameroon Cameroon
 China China
 Cyprus Cyprus
 Egypt* (founding member as United Arab Republic) Egypt* (founding member as United Arab Republic)
 The Gambia The Gambia
 Ghana Ghana
 India* India*
 Indonesia* Indonesia*
 Iraq* Iraq*
 Iran Iran
 Japan* Japan*
 Jordan Jordan
 Kenya Kenya
 Kuwait Kuwait
 Lebanon Lebanon
 Libya Libya
 Malaysia Malaysia
 Mauritius Mauritius
 Mongolia Mongolia
 Myanmar* Myanmar*
 Nepal Nepal
 Nigeria Nigeria
 North Korea North Korea
 Oman Oman
 Pakistan Pakistan
 State of Palestine State of Palestine
 Qatar Qatar
 Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia
 Senegal Senegal
 Sierra Leone Sierra Leone
 Singapore Singapore
 Somalia Somalia
 South Africa South Africa
 South Korea South Korea
 Sri Lanka* Sri Lanka*
 Sudan Sudan
 Syria* (founding member as United Arab Republic) Syria* (founding member as United Arab Republic)
 Tanzania Tanzania
 Thailand Thailand
 Turkey Turkey
 Uganda Uganda
 United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates
 Yemen Yemen
Non-Members
    
Those African-Asian countries aren’t part of the Legal Consultative
 Afghanistan Afghanistan
 Algeria Algeria
 Angola Angola
 Benin Benin
 Bhutan Bhutan
 Burkina Faso Burkina Faso
 Burundi Burundi
 Cambodia Cambodia
 Cabo Verde Cabo Verde
 Central African Republic Central African Republic
 Chad Chad
 Comoros Comoros
 Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo
 Congo, DR Congo, DR
 Djibouti Djibouti
 Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea
 Eritrea Eritrea
 Ethiopia Ethiopia
 Gabon Gabon
 Guinea Guinea
 Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau
 Ivory Coast Ivory Coast
 Laos Laos
 Lesotho Lesotho
 Liberia Liberia
 Madagascar Madagascar
 Malawi Malawi
 Maldives Maldives
 Mali Mali
 Mauritania Mauritania
 Morocco Morocco
 Mozambique Mozambique
 Namibia Namibia
 Niger Niger
 Philippines Philippines
 Rwanda Rwanda
 São Tomé and Principe São Tomé and Principe
 Seychelles Seychelles
 Eswatini Eswatini
 Taiwan Taiwan
 Togo Togo
 Tunisia Tunisia
 Vietnam Vietnam
 Zambia Zambia
 Zimbabwe Zimbabwe
References
    
- "AALCOIEG Chairman's Statement and Special Rapporteur's Report" (PDF).
- TRAC, Tehran Regional Arbitration Centre. "HOME". Tehran Regional Arbitration Centre. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
- "Former Secretaries General". www.aalco.int. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
- Dr. Kamalinne Pinitpuvadol elected to serve as the Secretary-General of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO)