An international organization can be defined, following the International Law Commission, as an 'organization established by a treaty or other instrument governed by international law and possessing its own international legal personality'. International organizations generally have States as members, but often other entities can also apply for membership. They both make international law and are governed by it. Yet, the decision-making process of international organizations is often 'less a question of law than one of political judgement'.
This Research Guide is intended as a starting point for research on International Organizations. It provides the basic legal materials available in the Peace Palace Library, both in print and electronic format. Handbooks, leading articles, bibliographies, periodicals, serial publications and documents of interest are presented in the Selective Bibliography section. Links to the PPL Catalogue are inserted. The Library's subject heading (keyword) International Organizations is instrumental for searching through the Catalogue. Special attention is given to our subscriptions on databases, e-journals, e-books and other electronic resources. Finally, this Research Guide features links to relevant websites and other online resources of particular interest.
Sources of international law
Treaties
Case-law
UN Declarations and Resolutions
Soft law
Reference works
- Alvarez, J.E., The Impact of International Organizations on International Law, Leiden, Brill Nijhoff, 2017.
- Archer, C., and L. Marsden, International Organizations, London, Routledge, 2015.
- Bĕlohlávek, A.J., and N. Rozehnalová (eds.), International Organisations, The Hague, Lex Lata, 2018.
- Cogan, J. K. (eds.), (et. al.), The Oxford Handbook of International Organizations, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016. [E-book].
- David, E., Droit des Organisations Internationales, Bruxelles, Bruylant. 2016.
- Delanty, G. (ed.), Routledge Handbook of Cosmopolitan Studies, London, Routledge, 2017.
- Díez de Velasco, M., Las Organizaciones Internacionales, Madrid, Tecnos, 2010.
- Droesse, G., Membership in International Organizations : Paradigms of Membership Structures, Legal Implications of Membership and the Concept of International Organization, The Hague, Asser Press, 2020.
- Hurd, I., International Organizations: Politics, Law, Practice, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2018.
- Klabbers, J., Advanced Introduction to the Law of International Organizations, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015.
- Klabbers, J., Research Handbook on the Law of International Organizations, 2011.
- Klabbers, J.A.M., An Introduction to International Institutional Law, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2009.
- Lagrange, E. and J.M. Sorel (eds.), Droit des Organisations Internationales, Paris, LGDJ, 2013.
- Peters, C., Praxis internationaler Organisationen - Vertragswandel und völkerrechtlicher Ordnungsrahmen, Berlin, Springer, 2016.
- Scharf, M.P. and P.R. Williams (eds.), Law of International Organizations: Problems and Materials, Durham, NC, Carolina Academic Press, 2013.
- Trifunovska, S., The Law of International Organizations : Documents and Cases, The Hague, Eleven International Publishing, 2015.
- Yi-Chong, X., and P. Weller, The Working World of International Organizations : Authority, Capacity, Legitimacy, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2018. [E-book]
- White, N.D., The Law of International Organisations, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2017.
- Wojcikiewicz Almeida, P. and R. Zelesco Barretto, Direito das Organizações Internacionais : Casos e Problemas, Rio de Janeiro, Editora FGV, 2014.
Selected books and articles
Books
- Abbott, K.W. (et al.) (eds.), International Organizations as Orchestrators, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2015.
- Alvarez, J. E., The Impact of International Organizations onInternational Law, Leiden, Brill Nijhoff, 2017. [E-book].
- Barros, A. S., International Organizations and Member State Responsibility : Critical Perspectives, Leiden, Brill Nijhoff, 2017. [E-book].
- Bĕlohlávek, A.J., and N. Rozehnalová, International Organisations, The Hague, Lex Lata, 2018.
- Block-Lieb, S., and T.C. Halliday, Global Lawmakers : International Organizations in the Crafting of World Markets, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2017.
- Blokker, N., and N. Schrijver (eds.), Immunity of International Organizations, Leiden, Brill Nijhoff, 2015. [E-book].
- Boisson de Chazournes, L., Interactions Between Regional and Universal Organizations : a Legal Perspective, Leiden, Brill Nijhoff, 2017. [E-book].
- Chan, S. , Plural international relations in a divided world, Cambridge, Polity Press, 2017.
- Conceição-Heldt, E., da (et al.) (eds.), Internationale Organisationen : Autonomie, Politisierung, interorganisationale Beziehungen und Wandel, Baden-Baden, Nomos, 2015.
- Ferstman, C., International Organizations and the Fight for Accountability : The Remedies and Reparations Gap, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2017.
- Furtak, F. T., Internationale Organisationen : Staatliche und Nichtstaatliche Organisationen in der Weltpolitik, Wiesbaden, Springer VS, 2015. [E-book].
- Gasbarri, L., "The Dual Legality of the Rules of International Organizations", In: International Organizations Law Review, Vol. 14, No. 1 (2017), pp. 87-119.
- Gulati, R., Access to Justice and International Organizations. Coordinating Jurisdiction between the National and Institutional Legal Orders, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2022.
- Krieger, J. (ed.), The Oxford Companion to International Relations, New York, Oxford University Press, 2014.
- Magliveras, K.D., "Legal Aspects of Competition between International Organizations", In: Jalloh, C. C., and O. Elias (eds.), Shielding Humanity: Essays in International Law in Honour of Judge Abdul G. Koroma, Leiden, Brill Nijhoff, 2015, pp. 242-259.
- Ntumba Kapita, P., Structure et fonctionnement des organisations internationales, Paris, L'Harmattan, 2021.
- Niezen, R., and M. Sapignoli (eds.), Palaces of Hope: the Anthropology of Global Organizations, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2017.
- Pataut, É., "Les Organisations Internationales et le Droit International Privé: Droit International Privé Universel et Droit International Privé Régional", In: Vellano, M. (ed.), Il Futuro delle Organizzazioni Internazionali: Prospettive Giuridiche = L'Avenir des Organisations Internationales: Perspectives Juridiques : XIX Convegno, Courmayeur, 26-28 giugno 2014 , Napoli, Editoriale Scientifica, 2015.
- Patel, B.N., Responsibility of International Organisations Towards Other International Organisations: Law and practice of the United Nations, the World Bank, the European Union (EU) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Lucknow, Eastern Book Company, 2013.
- Ragazzi, M. (ed.), Responsibility of International Organizations : Essays in Memory of Sir Ian Brownlie, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2013.
- Ryngaert, C., Judicial Decisions on the Law of International Organizations, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016.
- Virzo, R., and I. Ingravall.o (eds.), Evolutions in the Law of International Organizations, Leiden, Brill Nijhoff, 2015.
- Sinclair, G. F., To Reform the World : International Organizations and the Making of Modern States, Oxford University Press, 2017 [E-book].
- Worster, W.T., Cases and Materials on the Law of International Organizations, Abingdon, Oxon, Routledge, 2020.
- Yi-Chong, X., and P. Weller, The Working World of International Organizations : Authority, Capacity, Legitimacy, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2018. [E-book]
- Zaum, D. (ed.), Legitimating International Organizations, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2013.
Articles
- Boisson de Chazournes, L., "Relations with Other International Organizations", In: Cogan, J.K. (eds.) (et. al.), The Oxford Handbook of International Organizations, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016, pp 691-711.
- Brabandere, E. de, "Measures of Constraint and the Immunity of International Organisations", in Ruys,T. (et al.)(eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Immunities and International Law, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2019.
- Klabbers, J., "Theorizing International Organizations", In: Orford, A. and F. Hoffmann (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Theory of International Law, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016, pp. 618-634. [E-book].
- "Le Droit des Organisations Internationales: Modèle et Moteur du Droit International", In: Archiv des Völkerrechts, Vol. 53, afl. 3, 2015, pp. 390-399.
- Ryngaert, C., "The Responsibility of Member States of International Organisations: Concluding Observations", International Organizations Law Review, Vol. 12, Issue 2, 2015, pp. 502-517.
- Webb, P., "Treaties and International Organizations: Uneasy Analogies", In: Tams, C.J. (et al.) (eds.), Research Handbook on the Law of Treaties, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar, 2014.
- Wessel, R. A. and Dekker, I.F., "Identities of States in International Organisations", In: International Organizations Law Review, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2015, pp. 293-318.
- Wood, M., "Do International Organizations Enjoy Immunity under Customary International Law?", In: Blokker, N. and N. Schrijver (eds.), Immunity of International Organizations, Leiden, Brill Nijhoff, 2015
Periodicals, serial publications
- Bulletin Trimestriel de Renseignements Sur l'œuvre des Organisations Internationales
- CIAO, Columbia International Affairs Online
- Columbia University Studies in International Organization
- Documents of International Organizations : a Selected Bibliography
- Global Governance : a Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations
- International Organization vol. 1 (1947) - vol. 62 (2008)
- International Organization E-journal (1947) - ...
- International Organization and the Evolution of World Society
- International Organizations and the Law of the Sea: Documentary Yearbook
- International Organizations Law Review
- International Organizations Series
- International Organizations Series (Robert George Neville (et al.))
- Journal of International Organizations Studies
- Legal Aspects of International Organization
- L'Organisation Internationale et l'Évolution de la Société Mondiale
- Organisation Internationale et Relations Internationales
- Répertoire des Organisations Internationales
- Répertoire des Organisations Internationales : (associations, bureaux, commissions, etc.)
- World Polity : a Yearbook of Studies in International Law and Organization
- Yearbook of International Organizations
Bibliographies
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, International Organizations or Institutions, Implied Powers, by Niels Blokker.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, International Organizations or Institutions, Decision-Making Bodies, by Niels M Blokker.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, International Organizations or Institutions, Secretariats, by Niels M Blokker.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, International Organizations or Institutions, Cooperation in Security Matters, by Alena Douhan.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, International Organizations or Institutions, Regional Groups, by Mathias Forteau.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, International Organizations or Institutions, Responsibility and Liability, by Matthias Hartwig.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, International Organizations or Institutions, Headquarters, by Jochen Herbst.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, International Organizations or Institutions, Decision-Making Process, by Pierre Klein.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, International Organizations or Institutions, Internal Law and Rules, by Pierre Klein.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, International Organizations or Institutions, Democratic Legitimacy, by Markus Krajewski.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, International Organizations or Institutions, Observer Status, by T, Rensmann.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, International Organizations or Institutions, Financing of, by Henry G Schermers, Niels M Blokker.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, International Organizations or Institutions, Membership, Henry G Schermers, Niels M Blokker.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, International Organizations or Institutions, Voting Rules and Procedures, by Henry G Schermers†, Niels M Blokker.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, International Organizations or Institutions, General Aspects, by Kirsten Schmalenbach.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, International Organizations or Institutions, Supervision and Sanctions, by Kirsten Schmalenbach.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, International Organizations or Institutions, Legal Remedies against Acts of Organs, by Kirsten Schmalenbach.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, International Organizations or Institutions, Succession, by Kirsten Schmalenbach.
- International Organizations - Electronic Resource Guide, by Anne Burnett.
- International Organizations
- International Law: International Organizations, Encyclopedia Brittannica.
- International Organization, Wikipedia.
- List of International Organizations
- Are you an expert on international organizations? [quiz]