Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play an increasing political role on the international scene, and their position in relation to international law is generally regarded as important but informal. Their actual legal status has not been the subject of much investigation. This 2006 book examines the legal status of NGOs in different fields of international law, with emphasis on human rights law. By means of a thorough examination and systematisation of international legal rules and practices, the rights, obligations, locus standi and consultative status of NGOs are explored. This study is placed within a wider discussion on the representation of groups in the international legal system. Lindblom argues, on the basis of a discourse model of international decision-making, that non-governmental organisation is an important form of public participation that can strengthen the flawed legitimacy of the state-centric system of international law.

Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) have become important, although sometimes overlooked, actors in international human rights law. Although NGOs are not generally provided for in the hard law of treaties, they use the UN human rights system to hold Governments to account. A key way in which they do so is using State reporting mechanisms, initially the UN treaty bodies, but more recently supplemented by the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review. In doing so, NGOs provide information and contribute to developing recommendations. NGOs also lobby for new treaties, contribute to the drafting of these treaties, and bring individual’s complaints to the UN human rights bodies. This book charts the historical development of the NGO role in the UN. It examines the UN regulation of NGOs but the largely informal nature of the role, and an exploration of the various types of NGOs, including some less benign actors such as GONGOs (Governmental NGOs). It also draws on empirical data to illustrate NGO influence on UN human rights bodies and gives voice to stakeholders both inside and outside the UN. The book concludes that the current UN human rights system is heavily reliant on NGOs and that they play an essential fact-finding role and contribute to global democratisation and governance.

Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--University of Leuven, 2009.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from Amnesty International and Oxfam to Greenpeace and Save the Children are now key players in global politics. This accessible and informative textbook provides a comprehensive overview of the significant role and increasing participation of NGOs in world politics. Peter Willetts examines the variety of different NGOs, their structure, membership and activities, and their complex relationship with social movements and civil society. He makes us aware that there are many more NGOs exercising influence in the United Nations system than the few famous ones. Conventional thinking is challenged in a radical manner on four questions: the extent of the engagement of NGOs in global policy- making; the status of NGOs within international law; the role of NGOs as crucial pioneers in the creation of the Internet; and the need to integrate NGOs within mainstream international relations theory. This is the definitive guide to this crucial area within international politics and should be required reading for students, NGO activists, and policy-makers.

In Status of NGOs in International Humanitarian Law, Claudie Barrat examines the legal framework applicable to NGOs in situations of armed conflict. The author convincingly demonstrates, contrary to convention, that in addition to the ICRC, the National Societies and the IFRC, numerous other NGOs referenced in humanitarian law treaties have a legal status in IHL and therefore legitimate claim to employ IHL provisions to respond to current challenges. On the basis of clear and thorough definitions of these entities, Barrat argues that existing NGOs meeting stringent definition can benefit from customary rights and obligations in both international and non-international armed conflict.

The discourse regarding the legal status of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) is not new; in fact, it has already progressed throughout the last 100 years. However, most of the proposals to grant official status to INGOs, or to otherwise regulate their cross-border activity, are relatively unknown to international lawyers. A perusal of these initiatives against their unique historical background will prove highly significant in dissecting the complexities involved in formulating a comprehensive scheme for the regulation of INGOs. Innovatively, this work outlines and evaluates the sequence of attempts to propose a formal status for INGOs. It demonstrates how this historical contextual analysis provides an invaluable perspective that is essential for the informed review of contemporary schemes and theoretical trends, relevant to the consideration of the status of INGOs. Unfortunately, most contemporary writers and activists who deal with the normative aspects of INGO activity neglect this crucial perspective.

In December 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the International Law Commission's articles on the responsibility of international organizations, bringing to conclusion not only nearly ten years of reflection by the Commission, governments and organizations on this specific topic, but also decades of study of the wider subject of international responsibility, which had initially focused on State responsibility. Parallel to this reflection by the Commission, diplomats and public officials, the body of international case-law and literature on the many facets of the topic has steadily been growing. Responsibility of International Organizations: Essays in Memory of Sir Ian Brownlie contributes to the body of international literature by collecting a broad spectrum of different and sometimes differing perspectives from well-known experts in the field, ranging from the bench to the Commission, academia, and the world of in-house counsel. The book is also a memorial to the renowned Sir Ian Brownlie, himself a former Chairman of the International Law Commission who, as a leading scholar and practitioner, greatly contributed to the reflection on international responsibility, including the responsibility of international organizations. Edited by Maurizio Ragazzi, a former pupil of Sir Ian, the book is an ideal companion to International Responsibility Today, a collection of essays on international responsibility which the same editor presented in 2005 in memory of Oscar Schachter, and to which Sir Ian Brownlie had contributed. The essays collected in Responsibility of International Organizations: Essays in Memory of Sir Ian Brownlie, conveniently grouped by the editor under broad areas for the reader's benefit, will be relevant not only to all those interested in this specific subject but also, more generally, to all those engaged in the field of international law and the law of international organizations.

1. Introduction 2. Participants in International Law-making 3. Multilateral Law-making Processes 4. Codification and Progressive Development of International law 5. Law-making Instruments 6. The Role of Courts.

Virtually every important question of public policy today involves an international organization. From trade to intellectual property to health policy and beyond, governments interact with international organizations in almost everything they do. Increasingly, individual citizens are directly affected by the work of international organizations. Aimed at academics, students, practitioners, and lawyers, this book gives a comprehensive overview of the world of international organizations today. It emphasizes both the practical aspects of their organization and operation, and the conceptual issues that arise at the junctures between nation-states and international authority, and between law and politics. While the focus is on inter-governmental organizations, the book also encompasses non-governmental organizations and public policy networks. With essays by the leading scholars and practitioners, the book first considers the main international organizations and the kinds of problems they address. This includes chapters on the organizations that relate to trade, humanitarian aid, peace operations, and more, as well as chapters on the history of international organizations. The book then looks at the constituent parts and internal functioning of international organizations. This addresses the internal management of the organization, and includes chapters on the distribution of decision-making power within the organizations, the structure of their assemblies, the role of Secretaries-General and other heads, budgets and finance, and other elements of complex bureaucracies at the international level. This book is essential reading for scholars, practitioners, and students alike.

This collection of essays provides a comprehensive study of the theory and practice on the contribution of international organisations and non-state actors to the formation of customary international law. It offers new practical and theoretical perspectives on one of the most complex questions about the making of international law, namely the possibility that actors other than states contribute to the making of customary international law. Notwithstanding the completion by the International Law Commission of its work on the identification of customary international law, the making of customary international law remains riddled with acute practical and theoretical controversies that continue to be intensively debated. Making extensive reference to the case-law of international law courts and tribunals while also engaging with the most recent scholarly work on customary international law, this new volume provides innovative tools and guidance to legal scholars, researcher in law, law students, lecturers in law, practitioners, legal advisers, judges, arbitrators, and counsels as well as tools to address contemporary questions of international law-making. This volume includes a contribution by Michael Wood, the Special Rapporteur of the International Law Commission on the identification of customary international law, a contribution by Iris Müller, legal advisor of the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as chapters from some of the most authoritative and established experts on the sources of international law.