Österdahl, Inger --- "International Organiazations – Institutions and Organs" [2011] ELECD 523; in Klabbers, Jan; Wallendahl, Åsa (eds), "Research Handbook on the Law of International Organizations" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: Research Handbook on the Law of International Organizations

Editor(s): Klabbers, Jan; Wallendahl, Åsa

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847201355

Section: Chapter 7

Section Title: International Organiazations – Institutions and Organs

Author(s): Österdahl, Inger

Number of pages: 34

Extract:

7 International organizations ­ institutions and
organs
Inger Österdahl



INTRODUCTION

Institutions and organs make up the structure and the contents of the interna-
tional organizations. Without institutions and organs there would be no inter-
national organizations but merely assemblies of states. Institutions and organs
are the entities that have the potential to make the organization become some-
thing other than and ­ more or less ­ independent from the member states.
Indeed, the existence of institutions and organs make up part of the very defi-
nition of an international organization.1
The institutions and organs of an international organization may to a certain
extent be compared to the corresponding component of a state.2 An important
difference of course between an international organization and a state is that the
citizenry of an international organization is made up of states whereas individ-
ual human beings make up the citizens of a state. Individual citizens thus are
only indirectly represented, at best, in the institutions and organs of international
organizations. As far as representatives of authoritarian states are concerned as
well as representatives in different expert organs whose appointment has no
connection with any political elections, the link between the individual citizen
and the persons making up the organs and institutions is even weaker.
Since institutions and organs constitute such central components of an
international organization a lot of issues of principle arise with respect to these
bodies. These issues again can be compared to the constitutional issues arising
within a state although the constitutional ...