1. Palacky University Olomouc
Faculty of Law
Law of International
Organisations
Non-judicial organs of IGOs.
Legal character and effects of their acts.
(Institutional structures I.)
12.04.2011
Support of the foreign language profile of law tuition at the Faculty of Law in Olomouc CZ.1.07/2.2.00/15.0288
2. Today´s program
• Institutional structures/organs
– Regular organs
– Other bodies
– Creation of organs
• IGOs as lawmakers:
– Powers
– Legal character and effect of their acts
3. Institutional structures
• Broad variety of organs/structures set up to perform various
functions, however,
• Some similarities (+) IGOs typically have:
Plenary organs
– Organ, where all members meet periodically
– Organ working for the interest/representing the will of MS
– Typical task: setting common
standards (especially for internal
functioning of the IGO)
– Examples: UN General Assembly;
Council of Europe: Committee of
Ministers
4. Institutional structures
Executive organs
• Organ working for the interest of the IGO
• Examples: EU Commission, UN SC
• Usually designed in a way to enable
quick decision-making
• Some vested with power to make binding
decisions (UN SC), some are engaged in
regulatory/executive activities (EU COM)
• How are executive organs composed?
– Variety of aspects, usually based on idea
of representation
– UN SC: Art. 23 UN Charter
– EU Commission: (at present) each State
1 representative appointed by the
common accord of MS with approval of
the EP
5. Art. 23 (1) UN-Charter
Article 23
1. The Security Council shall consist of fifteen Members of the
United Nations. The Republic of China, France, the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America shall
be permanent members of the Security Council. The General
Assembly shall elect ten other Members of the United Nations
to be non-permanent members of the Security Council, due
regard being specially paid, in the first instance to the
contribution of Members of the United Nations to the
maintenance of international peace and security and to the
other purposes of the Organization, and also to equitable
geographical distribution.
6. Institutional structures
Administrative organs
• Organ working for the interest of
the IGO as a whole: Art. 100 UN-Charter
• Examples: UN Secretariat
• Do the Secretaries-General perform only
administrative tasks / have only a passive
„observer“ role?
Art. 99 UN-Charter
The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council
any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of
international peace and security.
UN News Centre: Ban instructs UN troops to take all necessary steps to protect
civilians
4 April 2011 – United Nations peacekeepers in Côte d’Ivoire, supported by French
forces, carried out a military operation today to prevent the use of heavy weapons
against civilians in Abidjan after Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon instructed them to
take “all necessary measures” to defend themselves and protect innocent lives amid
the worsening crisis in the West African nation….
7. Article 100 UN-Charter
Article 100
1. In the performance of their duties the Secretary-
General and the staff shall not seek or receive
instructions from any government or from any other
authority external to the Organization. They shall
refrain from any action which might reflect on their
position as international officials responsible only to
the Organization.
2. Each Member of the United Nations undertakes to
respect the exclusively international character of the
responsibilities of the Secretary-General and the
staff and not to seek to influence them in the
discharge of their responsibilities.
8. Institutional structures
• Other organs of IGOs?
– judicial organ created to
solve disputes between MS
– (Quasi-)parliamentary organ
• E.g. EU Parliament
• Creation of organs?
– Usually by means of constituent
instrument (treaty)
– Organs may create sub-organs
9. Article 7 UN-Charter
1. There are established as the principal organs of
the United Nations: a General Assembly, a Security
Council, an Economic and Social Council, a
Trusteeship Council, an International Court of
Justice, and a Secretariat.
2. Such subsidiary organs as may be found
necessary may be established in accordance with
the present Charter.
10. IGOs as lawmakers
• Purpose of creation of IGOs:
– performance of functions on cooperative
basis
• Precondition of this task:
– ability to adopt and creaty legal acts
• Scope of the ability to adopt/create
legal acts:
– question of powers of IGOs
11. IGOs as lawmakers
• Legal capacities/powers of IGOs?
ICJ (1986): Legality of the Use by a State of Nuclear Weapons
in Armed Conflict, Advisory Opinion. Preliminary objections:
„The Court need hardly point out that international
organizations are subjects of international law which do not,
unlike States, possess a general competence. International
organizations are governed by the "principle of speciality", that
is to say, they are invested by the States which create them
with powers, the limits of which are a function of the common
interests whose promotion those States entrust to them.“
• Legal capacities/powers limited by:
– Principle of speciality and
– Principle of conferred (explicit or implicit) powers
– No „Kompetenz-Kompetenz“
12. IGOs as lawmakers
• Primary law
– Constituing treaty, protocols,
additional agreements, etc.
– Delegation of powers to the IGO
to create legaly binding acts
necessary to carry out mandate
– Constituent treaty
• defines decision-making process
• defines the effect of such legislation
– which in some cases even overrides
national legislation (EU)
13. IGOs as lawmakers
• Secondary Law
– Based on primary law
– Treaties
– Unilateral acts
• Acts in external relations
– Recommendations
– Legally binding effect only exceptionally (SC Resolutions)
– in relation to third states only „soft-law“
• Internal acts
– Usually specification of primary provisions
– Based on imlicit (implied powers theory) or explicit
powers resulting from primary law
14. IGOs as lawmakers
• Functional categories of IGO´s legal acts:
– Law-making acts
• abstract rules of general application binding upon all
subjects of the system
• Example: EU regulations
– „administrative acts“
• Decisions in EU law
• Decisions of the Security Council
– Acts related to internal functioning of IGOs
• Budget making / selection of officials
– Recommendations, declarations, code of conduct
• Acts without formal legaly binding nature – soft law
15. IGOs as lawmakers
UN Security Council
Article 25
The Members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry
out the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with
the present Charter.
Article 33
1. The parties to any dispute, the continuance of which is likely
to endanger the maintenance of international peace and
security, shall, first of all, seek a solution by negotiation,
enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement,
resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful
means of their own choice.
2. The Security Council shall, when it deems necessary, call
upon the parties to settle their dispute by such means.
16. IGOs as lawmakers
S/Res. 1373(2001)
The Security Council,
....
Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United
Nations,
1. Decides that all States shall:
(a) Prevent and suppress the financing of terrorist
acts;
(b) Criminalize the wilful provision or collection, by
any means, directly or indirectly, of funds by their
nationals or in their territories with the intention that
the funds should be used, or in the knowledge that
they are to be used, in order to carry out terrorist
acts;
...
