Lesson 15 Flashcards
Where is a Definition of IO Found?
Art. 2 ILC’s Draft Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations
What is the Definition of IO?
“An organization established by a treaty or other instrument governed by international law and possessing its own international legal personality.
International organizations may include as members, in addition to States, other entities”
What is considered the oldest international organization?
the Central Commission for Navigation of the Rhine
What convention established the first IO?
Congress of Vienna, 1815
What are the 5 Main Features of IO?
1) Created by States
2) Based on the International Treaty
3) Has a Permanent Structure
4) Organ with a distinct will from its members states
5) Functional aim
Definition of IO (5 Requirements)
** Association
** Members
** Juridical act (usually a treaty)
** Specific tasks (functionalism)
** Permanent organs
What is the legal basis that entitles the IO to carry out a function?
1) IO designed to perform only those activities that States delegate to them
2) they have limited competence and field of action: IO’s are subjects of IL which do not, unlike States, possess full capacity.
3) Headquarters agreements are necessary - these agreements determine the status of the organization’s headquarters and its capacities, privileges, and immunities
What rights and powers do IOs have?
1) treaty-making power
2) the right to immunity
3) the right to protection
4) the right to bring an international claim
Types of IO’s?
(1) By membership (universal or open) (limited number or closed)
(2) By the Aim of the IO (general aim vs specific aim)
(3) By the legal forms of association (intergovernmental - of cooperation vs supranational - of integration)
6 Components of IO Membership?
1) Membership in IO is voluntary
2) Constituent Treaties of IO determine conditions and procedure to join the organization
3) Each IO has its own rules for membership
4) General rule: States are the members of the IO but other IO or entities can be members of an IO
5) Membership can be full or limited
6) the termination of membership is not always voluntary
Who can be a member of an IO?
1) States
2) International Organizations
3) Territories of a State
4) State Members of a Federal State
5) Liberation National Movements
Types of Membership in an IO?
Full (original members + admitted members) vs Restricted (associate members + observer + consultative)
Typical Tripartite Structure or Regular Organs?
1) Plenary Body
2) Executive Body
3) Administrative Body
What is a Plenary Body?
(1) a body where all members meet on regular intervals
(2) normally composed of State representatives
(3) the function is to set standards common for all
What is the Executive Body?
(1) meet and make decisions on shorter notice
(2) some - like the SC - have the power to make binding decisions
(3) normally based on representation
What is the Administrative Body
(1) composed by international civil service
(2) staff considered to be neutral and impartial, working only for the interests of the organization as a whole
Types of Organs of Institutional Structures?
1) by its composition
2) by the degree of autonomy
3) by tis functions
Institutional Structure: By Composition
1) Intergovernmental
2) Non Intergovernmental
Attributed and Implied Powers of IO’s?
1) the power to perform act derives from the constituent treaty
2) the legal effects of these acts will depend on the constitutional provisions of the IO
3) normally, the constituent treaty has no reference or explanation of the legal effects of the acts
4) need to take in consideration the intention behind the resolution
Types of Acts that IO May Adopt?
1) Institutional Acts
2) Operational Acts
3 Counterarguments to IOs existence?
1) Neo-liberal era
2) Era of informational frameworks for cooperation
3) Era of “new sovereignty”/ “new nationalism”
