Legal Personality- States and International Organsisations - International organisations as subjects - IL Gleider H. Legal personality of international organizations

6 important questions on Legal Personality- States and International Organsisations - International organisations as subjects - IL Gleider H. Legal personality of international organizations

Legal personality in essence represents?

Represents recognition by actors in a legal order (in international law, primarily States) that the legal person concerned is entitled to hold rights and bear obligations derived from law.

The Court: international organizations could possess rights, powers, privileges and immunities distinct from its members, and is are necessary for them to exercise their functions.
This would be so even if it was not explicitly laid out in its constituent instrument.In this respect, an international organizations basis for legal personality is distinct than that of a state. There a three ways to approach this matter?

  1. Functionalist approach, involves ascribing implied powers to an organization which are necessary to give effect to an explicit power.
  2. A second approach is known as the ‘will theory’ approach. It personality may exist if its members intended for it to rights, and duties ascribed to the organization by its members. Will theory is attractive to some, as it accords broadly with a positivist vision of the intention of the creators of the organization.
  3. Empirical, objective approach could suggest that international law sets out certain objective criteria, such as possessing organs that have separate decision-making powers from its members.

What are the general principles of legal personality  in domestic law?

  • International legal personality does nog automatically entail domestic legal personality.
  • Each legal system is in principle free to develop its own conditions for legal personality.
  • As a general rule, it will recognize domestic legal personality  in accordance with the particular relationship between it's national law and international law.
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Can States create rights or obligations for third parties without there consent?

No they can not. In accordance with the pacta tertiis maxim embodied in art. 34 VCLT States can not create rights or obligations for third parties without their consent.  However, third States may well provide for the domestic legal personality of an international organization of which they are not a member in application of the principle of comity between nations.

What are the consequences of domestic legal personality like privileges and immunities?

International organizations require certain privileges and immunities in order to perform their functions effectively.  Such privileges and immunities find recognition in treaties, multilateral treaties of bilateral agreements between international organizations and member States.

Some argue that customary international law might accord certain privileges and immunities tot international organizations.  Such privileges and immunities may include?

Immunity from the judicial jurisdiction of a State;
immunity from measures of execution, such as seizure of property of other assets; the inviolability of premises property and archives;
currency and fiscal privileges; and freedom of communication.

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