Ad Hoc Committee

Institution Diplomatic Practice Preferred

Temporary committee created for one specific task and dissolved when that task is finished.

Independent referenceNot an official or legal definition
Sources citedSee the sources at the end of this page
Status Under reviewLast updated 11 October 2026
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Definition

In plain language

An ad hoc committee is a group set up for a single job, such as drafting a text or examining a problem. Once the job is done, the group stops existing.

Academic definition

In United Nations practice the General Assembly may establish subsidiary organs it considers necessary for its functions under Article 22 of the Charter, and ad hoc committees are one such form, normally given a defined mandate and a reporting date. Open-ended ad hoc committees have been used to negotiate treaties, for example the committee created by General Assembly resolution 74/247 (2019) to elaborate a convention on countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes. Their composition, rules of procedure and lifespan are set by the creating resolution, not by a general statute.

Classification

Term type
Institution
Category
Diplomatic Practice
Subject field
Diplomatic Practice
Subfield
Conference and Committee Procedure
Difficulty level
Intermediate
Grammatical category
noun phrase

Language variants

Alternative terms
  • ad hoc working group
  • temporary committee
Non-preferred terms
  • not_applicable
Abbreviations
  • not_applicable
Acronyms
  • not_applicable
Native terms
  • ad hoc (Latin, 'for this purpose')
Transliteration
not_applicable
Pronunciation
not_applicable

Context

Legal effect: Procedural

Scope

Covers temporary committees of States or organizations created for one mandate; standing committees, permanent commissions and judicial ad hoc tribunals are different.

Legal context

UN Charter Article 22 allows the General Assembly to establish subsidiary organs, and Article 29 gives the Security Council the same power; the creating resolution defines the mandate. The committee has no legal personality of its own and its outputs, usually draft texts or reports, bind no one until adopted by the parent body.

Diplomatic context

Delegations bargain over mandate, chair and open or limited membership, and the committee's rules of procedure usually follow those of the parent body unless the resolution says otherwise.

Institutional context

Created by the General Assembly, the Security Council, ECOSOC, regional organizations and diplomatic conferences; the Secretariat provides services and a bureau handles organization of work.

Historical context

Ad hoc committees have been a regular tool since the early General Assembly sessions, for instance for the Palestine question in 1947, and later for treaty negotiations such as the one preceding the Rome Statute.

Why it matters

Because mandate wording decides what the group may do, the choice of an ad hoc format signals both urgency and the limited political commitment of its parent body.

Usage

Register: Institutional

Usage note

Write 'ad hoc' without a hyphen when used as an adjective; 'Ad Hoc Committee' is capitalised when part of an official name.

Example

The Assembly set up an ad hoc committee to draft the convention and report back within two years.

Example scenario

A group of States asks the General Assembly to create an ad hoc committee to negotiate a treaty on a new topic. The resolution gives it a fixed number of sessions, open participation and a deadline, and the committee dissolves after submitting its draft to the Assembly.

Common misuse

Treating an ad hoc committee as a permanent body; its existence ends with its mandate unless the parent body renews it.

Not to be confused with

  • Ad hoc tribunal (a judicial body)
  • Standing committee
  • Plenary session

Sources

  1. Charter of the United Nations (1945), United Nations, Article 22. un.org
  2. Official definition. not_found_in_source
  3. Treaty reference. un.org
  4. Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs. not_found_in_source
  5. not_found_in_source. not_found_in_source

Source type: Treaty. Source reliability: Primary.

This entry is an independent reference definition, not an official or legally binding text. Where an official definition exists, it is linked above and is authoritative. Read our methodology.

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