International Organizations

  • Father of IO: Hugo Griotus - a comprehensive system of international law, distinction between just and unjust war 

    • Fransisco Vitoria - war could only be justified on the grounds of just cause, international law was founded on the universal laws of nature, was a Christian supremacist 

    • Suarez - obligatory character of international law was based on natural law, carry out agreements entered into

    • Alberico Gentili - law of treaties, originator of the secular school of thought in international law

  • First International Cooperation Processes - International Telegraphic Union (1865), Universal Postal Union (UPU, 1874)

  • League of Nations - first IO, after WWI, failed to confront determined aggressors, built the basis of an IO

  • United Nations Organization (UN) - after WWII

  • Expansion of International Law into Economics 

    • General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

    • UN Conference on Trade and Development

    • International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank 

  • International society’s most important factor is heterogeneity

  • International community of values

    • Protection of human rights

      • human reproduction

      • right to life

      • death penalty

    • Protection of global environment


Topic 2

  • International Telegraphic Union > International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

    • One of the oldest IOs, along with UPU

  • League of Nations - founded by Paris Peace Conference 

    • Many of pieces were relocated into the UN after its death 

    • Convent of the League of Nations signed as part one of Treaty of Versailles 

    • General Assembly, Executive Council (created Permanent Court of International Justice), Permanent Secretariat 

    • Mandate System

      • A. applied to parts of the old Ottoman Empire

      • B. applied to the former German colonies that the League took responsibility for after the First World War

      • C. South West Africa and certain South Pacific Islands

  • EU Charter of Fundamental Rights Article 21 - against all forms of discrimination


Topic 3

  • Key for exam

Characteristics of IO

  • 1. Only intergovernmental, representation from states with ambassadors 

    • Red Cross movement is an international organization but it is not intergovernmental

  • 2. Always founded by a Constitutive Treaty 

    • Exception: OSCE, created by political act

  • 3. Permanent system of organs

    • Six main organs of UN: security council, general assembly, secretary general, international court of justice

    • Institutions of EU: parliament, council of EU, court of justice, european central bank

  • 4. Autonomous will

  • 5. Own competence 

    • powers of attribution - powers assigned expressly or implicitly by the constitutive Treaty 

    • trade, competency given

    • monetary policy, exclusive competency of EU

  • 6. Institutionalized

    •  intergovernmental vs supranational

      • method is intergovernmental for a majority of IO, representation of states, UN

      • supranationalism, especially applies to EU, integration, economic and political integration of states, Member States transfer some of their sovereign powers to the EU

Classification of IO

  • Participation Criteria 

    • Universal -  propose cooperation between all states of the international community

      • No IO includes all states, so closest thing is UN 

    • Restricted - based on principle of exclusion

      • OECD - only 38 richest countries

      • OPEC - only oil exports

  • Subject Which the Cooperation Covers

    • General Competence - matters without limitation or excluding sectors of matters 

      • UN

    • Special Powers 

      • Humanitarian - NATO

      • Social/cultural - UNESCO

  • Methods of Cooperation

    • International Coordination Organizations - non-legally binding resolutions, recommendations, or agreements

    • IO with control functions - ensure compliance with treaty or conventions 

      • IO of Chemical Weapons

    • Operational IO 

      • International Financial Organizations, such as World Bank

      • International Seabed Authority 

    • IO of integration - supranational IOs

      • European Communities

      • EU

Proliferation of IO

  • Topic 3, Page 4 - Chart

Law and Politics in the World Community

  • UN Charter Article 2.4 - The role of force

    • There is no unified system of sanctions, there are circumstances in which the use of force is regarded as justified and legal

    • Sanctions may be imposed by the Security Council upon the determination of a threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression

  • UN CHarter Article 51 - States may use force in self-defense

    •  force is only for self defense, must be immediate, must be proportionate to original attack


Topic 4

  • UNWTO based in Madrid 


Topic 5

Main Functions of IO

  • Conflict resolution 

    • Diplomacy - preventive action, prevent disputes from escalating 

    • Good offices - both parties in conflict, conflict analysis, planning and support to the work of peace 

    • Mediation 

    • Peacemaking - special envoys and political missions in the field 

  • International economic regulations

    • Bretton Woods Agreement - creation of a new world economic order, 1944

      • World Trade Organization (WTO) - administer agreements, review trade policies of member states acting as a forum for the resolution of international trade disputes

        • Non-discrimination, reciprocity, transparency, fairness

      • International Monetary Fund (IMF) - keeps global financial nexus under inspection, observes world exchange rates and balance of payments and multilateral payments 

      • World Bank Group - making financial resources available to governments and private enterprises, stimulating investment flow, providing a forum for resolving disputes arising within the areas of investment 

  • Human rights protection

  • Creation and application of international law

    • 1. There is no single body able to create laws internationally binding upon everyone

    • 2. nor a proper system of courts with comprehensive and compulsory jurisdiction

    • International Court of Justice - most important court

      • international conventions = treaties

      • international custom is unwritten law

    • Ius Cogen - top rule, must be followed by all members, prohibited international crimes, without exception and in any circumstance, both in time of peace and in time of war

      • ex. torture, slavery, genocide

    • Ius Dispositivum - needs express consent of member states

    • Most laws of UNGA are not binding, soft laws

      • universal declaration of human rights is not binding, 1948

      • 1948, UN convention against genocide, binding treaty

      • treaties are hard laws, binding

  • Sustainable Development Goals

  • Protection of the environment and fight against climate change

    • UNFCCC - UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1992

  • Fight against Transnational Organized Crime and Terrorism 

    • Human trafficking - removal of organs, sexual and labor, child marriage

    • Smuggling of Migrants (SOM)

    • Trafficking in Persons (TIP)


Topic 6

  • IO are created through Founding or Constitutive Treaty 

    • Modifications of IO are in the constitutive treaty 

    • OSCE is an exception, not founded by treaty 

  • Attribution of powers - competences given to IO by the treaty 

    • Extensive powers to regulate policy fields

      • EU extensive powers

        • Exclusive competency - trade policy with one commissioner, currency

        • Coordination competency - environment policy

        • Cooperation competency

    • Limited powers to settling disputes between member states

  • UN Six Main Organs

    • General Assembly (UNGA)

    • Security Council (UNSC)

    • International Court of Justice (ICJ)

    • Secretariat 

    • Economic and Social Council

    • Trusteeship Council 

  • EU Seven Institutions 

    • European Council

    • European Parliament 

    • Council of the European Union

    • European Commission

    • Court of Justice of the European Union

    • European Central Bank

    • Court of Auditors 

  • EU Four Subsidiary Organs

    • European Economic and Social Committee (ETUC)

    • Committee of the Regions 

    • European Investment Bank (EIB) - lower ranking of power

    • European Investment Fund 

  • UN Decision - affirmative vote of 9/15 SC members without veto from 5 permanent members; affirmative vote of ⅔ of the GA

  • EU Decision - qualified majority; double majority system, 55% of states and 65% of population


Topic 7

  • Manifestations of international personality 

    • Right to conclude international treaties

    • Right to establish international relations

      • Passive right - accreditation before IO of diplomatic missions representing states

      • Active right - sending diplomatic missions of IO to represent the IO before states or other IOs

    • Right to participate in international dispute settlement procedures 

      • UN Charter Article 33 - dispute settlements by the following means

        • Negotiation - may not reach solution if they don’t want to

        • Mediation - always come up with a plan

        • Enquiry - commission of enquiry, submits a final report that is not binding but just advisory 

        • Conciliation - commission of conciliation, final report is not binding it is just advisory 

        • International arbitration 

        • Judicial settlement 

        • Resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own choice 

    • Right to participate in relations of international responsibility

    • Privileges and immunities 

Topic 8

  • UN Charter Article 2

  • UN Charter Article 4

  • UN Charter Article 7


Topic 9

  • World Bank Group

    • International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)

    • International Development Association (IDA) 

    • International Finance Corporation (IFC)

    • Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)

    • International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

    • Note: World Bank is made up of IBRD and IDA, but the other three added on make the Group

  • WTO - World Trade Organization

    • Key Treaties

      • GATT - international treaty, liberalization of commodities

      • GATS - liberalization of services

      • TRIPS - intellectual property

    • Rules of trade between nations, negotiations, open trade for benefit of all 

  • UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 

    • World Heritage sites, preserving culture 

  •  ILO - International Labor Organization 

    • Promoting jobs, protecting people 

    • SDG Goal 8

  • IMF - International Monetary Fund

    • Fosters economic growth and employment by providing temporary financial assistance to countries to help ease balance of payments adjustment and technical assistance 

    • Global currency exchange rates

  • IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency 

    • Cooperation in the nuclear field

    • Sage, secure, peaceful use of nuclear technology