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Public International Law (Year 2) Summary
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A summary for the first exam that's taken in year 2 for PIL, Good Luck ;)
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Public International Law SummaryExam 1
By: Lisa de Ronde
,Week 1: International Organizations: A Legal Introduction
1. Creation of a New International Legal Person
● International organizations (IOs) are entities created through multilateral
agreements, meaning agreements between multiple countries.
● This process is regulated by a constitutive agreement. Think of it as the birth
certificate of the organization. It defines what the organization can and cannot do.
● Contractual dimension: The agreement is a contract between the states involved.
Its content is determined by their collective will.
● Constitutional dimension: This aspect refers to the foundational rules and
procedures governing the organization. These rules dictate how the organization will
function, similar to how a country’s constitution works.
Key Point: This agreement both creates the organization and gives it specific powers, which
are then legally binding for all members.
2. Interpretation of the Constitutive Agreement
● How the constitutive agreement is understood is governed by the Vienna
Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT). It lays down three methods of
interpretation:
○ Textual interpretation: What the agreement says directly (the literal words).
○ Contextual interpretation: What the words mean within the broader
framework or context (considering the agreement as a whole).
○ Teleological interpretation: What the agreement aims to achieve (looking at
its purpose and goals).
● This also includes implicit powers: powers not explicitly mentioned in the agreement
but necessary to fulfill its purpose. For example, if an organization is tasked with
promoting peace, it might implicitly need the power to mediate conflicts.
Key Point: Interpretation ensures that the organization can function properly according to its
foundational principles, even if the agreement doesn’t mention every small detail.
3. Legal Personality of International Organizations
● External Legal Personality: International organizations, like the United Nations or
World Trade Organization, are treated as separate entities in international law, much
like countries (states). They have certain rights:
, ○ Ius contrahendi: The right to make treaties with states or other
organizations.
○ Ius legationis: The right to establish diplomatic relations and open offices or
delegations abroad.
○ Dispute settlement: The organization can participate in legal proceedings or
dispute settlements, often in specialized forums like the World Trade
Organization (WTO), but not in the International Court of Justice (ICJ),
which is reserved for disputes between states.
○ International responsibility: If an IO violates international law, it can be held
responsible, just like a state.
Privileges and Immunities:
● These are special legal protections for international organizations and their staff. For
example, under Article 105 of the UN Charter, UN staff have immunity from legal
processes in their host countries so that they can perform their duties without
interference.
Key Point: International organizations are treated as independent actors, much like
countries. They can make treaties, participate in disputes, and enjoy special legal
protections to function smoothly.
4. Internal Legal Personality
● Internally, IOs must deal with domestic legal relations (interactions within the
country where they are based) and can enter into agreements with private individuals
or companies.
● They also engage in employment relations—for instance, the United Nations has its
own internal judicial bodies, like the UN Dispute Tribunal (UNDT) and the ILO
Administrative Tribunal (ILOAT), to resolve disputes with its staff.
Key Point: While external personality focuses on relations with states, internal legal
personality governs how the organization functions within domestic legal systems, especially
with its employees and contractors.
5. Birth of an Organization
, ● An international organization formally comes into existence when its constitutional
agreement enters into force. This happens according to the procedures laid out in
the agreement, which may require a specific number of countries to ratify it.
● For example, UNESCO only comes into existence when enough countries agree to
its founding document.
● Different organizations have different rules, depending on the level of strictness in
their agreement. For instance, in UNESCO, a certain number of ratifications are
required, whereas the Treaty on European Union (TEU) might be stricter in
requiring specific member states to ratify.
Key Point: The organization comes into being when a sufficient number of member states
agree to its formation and ratify its constitutive treaty.
6. Putting the Organization in Motion
● Once established, the organization needs a physical headquarters and symbols (like
a flag or emblem). It also needs the ability to hire employees and manage taxes and
legal relationships in its host country.
● All these matters are typically governed by a headquarters agreement with the host
state. This agreement can provide tax exemptions for the IO, the legal framework for
its operations, and security measures for its employees.
Key Point: The organization must negotiate with its host state to set up its headquarters and
operate within that country’s legal framework.
7. Continuous Nature of IOs
● International organizations are usually created to exist for an unlimited time, meaning
there’s no set end date.
● Accession by new states: New states can join the organization, and this is
regulated by the constitutive agreement.
● Withdrawal: States might be able to leave the organization, but this too depends on
the rules in the constitutive agreement.
● Amendments: Over time, the organization’s foundational documents can be
amended to adapt to changing circumstances. This process is also regulated by the
constitutive agreement.
Key Point: International organizations are designed to adapt and change over time, with
mechanisms for states to join or leave and rules to be amended.
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