Suchergebnisse

This contribution takes issue with the very idea of crisis narratives, and suggests that such narratives are inevitable parts of our political culture. International law can always be said to be in crisis – which says something about international lawyers as well. If there currently is a crisis, it is a crisis of liberal democracy, not of international law. International law is perfectly capable of propping up all sorts of projects, whether benign or malign. ; Peer reviewed

This article addresses the ecology and functioning of the World Health Organization in a time of crisis, zooming in on the pressures on both the organization and its leadership generated by the circumstance that the organization cannot avoid allocating costs and benefits when taking decisions. The article argues that the covid-19 crisis illustrates how international organizations generally and the who in particular are subjected to conflicting demands, and how this impacts on the role of decision-makers. The latter, it transpires, need to display considerable practical wisdom.

Abstract
This article, part of the symposium on 'theorizing international organizations law', discusses the work (and a little of the life and influence) of Henry G. (Hein) Schermers, arguably the leading functionalist international organizations lawyer of the post-war era. The article discusses how Schermers' work solidified and consolidated functionalism and unwittingly laid bare its 'Achilles heel'. Confronted with the growing popularity of human rights and keenly devoted to human rights, Schermers faced a dilemma when the possible responsibility of international organizations for human rights violations came up – a dilemma his functionalism was unable to solve. Therewith, zooming in on Schermers' handling of the dilemma confirms that functionalist international organizations law is unable to address the responsibility of international organizations towards third parties. International organizations law will need to find different theoretical resources in order to come to terms with responsibility.

Abstract
This review essay takes an in-depth look at the most recent addition to the Oppenheim family, a two-volume work on the law and practice of the United Nations, prepared by Rosalyn Higgins and a dream team composed of some of her former students. The essay not only zooms in on the merits of the work but also aims to place it in context in a changing world, wistfully noting a little nostalgia (on the side of the reviewer as well as that of the authors perhaps) for, well, the days of wine and roses.

Abstract
This brief article, partly a comment on the articles by Danae Azaria, Kristina Daugirdas and Orfeas Chasapis Tassinis elsewhere in this issue, suggests that when it comes to discussing the sources of international law international legal scholarship would do well to be sensitive to issues related to democracy, representativeness, accountability and other staples of political theory. No matter how brilliant doctrinal sources scholarship may be in its own right, sources doctrine, in particular, is never politically innocent. Such scholarship is both about taming politics and facilitating politics, and this realization, in turn, engages the judgment to realize which to apply when.

This chapter addresses some of the complexities of having regional economic integration organizations (above all the European Union) participate in treaty-making under UN auspices. Discussing conceptual matters such as how participation can take place (as full member, as observer, or anything in-between), it delves into some of the relevant legal issues on both sides of the equation: on the part of the regional economic integration organization as well as on the part of the UN and specialized agencies, devoting some attention to the solutions agreed upon within the framework of the Food and Agricultural Organization when it admitted the EU as a member in its own right. These include the delegation and distribution of treaty-making powers, negotiating mandates, and the like, as well as some practical matters. The discussion is situated against a backdrop of functionalist theorizing about the law of international organizations. ; Peer reviewed

The chapter aims to investigate whether the EU serves as a model for other international organizations or whether it does not really fit that mould, and concludes that it does both simultaneously. The EU is an organization unlike any other, but has in important respects paved the way for others - not only by its particular structure and concrete activities, but also, and perhaps most importantly, on the epistemological level: it was the EU which was largely responsible for stimulating the possibility for international organizations to not only affect their member states, as traditionally supposed, but to directly reach individuals within those member states. ; Peer reviewed