INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND

STATES AS SUBJECTS OF
INTERNATIONAL LAW
 OUTLINE
Introduction
Key Concepts
I. States as subjects of International Law
1- Definition and Characteristics
2-Rights and Duties
3-Legal Personality
4- Limitation on state sovereignty
II. Organizations as Subjects of International Law
1- Types of international organizations
2- The UN legal personality
3- The approaches and criteria of legal personality
4- Extent of legal personality, rights and duties
Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
A legal system has to determine whom it endows with the
rights and duties contained in it and whose actions it takes
account of by attaching legal consequences to them.
States remain by far the most important legal persons and
despite the rise of globalisation and all that this entails,
states retain their attraction as the primary focus for the
social activity of humankind and thus for international law.
However, after WWII, several new subjects of IL have
emerged.
 Key ➥ International Rights and
A subject of Obligations (typically refers
concepts
international law: to states but may also
an entity possessing extend to organizations or
international rights and individuals under certain
obligations and having the legal frameworks)
capacity to maintain its
➥The ability to claim its
rights by bringing
international claims; and to rights in the international
be responsible for its legal system (e.g., bringing
breaches of obligation by a case before international
being subjected to such courts or tribunals)
claims.
➥Accountability for
violations of international
law.
Legal personality: The capacity to act within
the legal system
Personality in international law necessitates the
consideration of the interrelationship between rights
and duties afforded under the international system and
capacity to enforce claims. Without international legal
personality, the U.N. is unable to start proceedings
under international law against a State.
The well-known definition articulated by the ICJ in the
Reparation for Injuries opinion:
an international person ... is ... capable of
possessing international rights and duties,
and ... has capacity to maintain its rights by
bringing international claims.
I. STATES AS SUBJECTS OF IL:
States are qualified as original subjects of international law.
This implies that an entity, once it has been qualified as a
State, automatically enjoys full international legal personality.

States possess full legal personality and are the primary

subjects of international law, enjoying the broadest range
of rights and duties.
 1- Definition and Characteristics
of a state:
Article I of the Montevideo Convention on
Rights and Duties of States provides:
‘The State as a person of international law should
possess the following qualifications: (a) a
permanent population; (b) a defined territory;
(c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into
relations with the other States.’
 1- The existence of a 2- A defined territory:
The requirement for a particular
permanent population
territorial base upon which to
operate.
No specification of a
A state can be recognized as a legal
minimum number of person under international law
inhabitants, as (Nauru and despite disputes over its precise
borders, provided it has a clearly
Tuvalu) defined territory that is consistently
controlled by its government.
4- The capacity to enter
3- Government
an indicator of a coherent into legal relations with
political structure and other states is fundamental
society ≠ a strict to an entity's status as a
precondition for recognition sovereign state, reflecting
both its independence and
as an independent state
recognition by others.
2- The Fundamental rights of states under IL:

This was defined in the Draft

Declaration on the Rights and
Duties of States prepared in 1949 by
Independen
the International Law Commission as
ce/
Sovereignty
the capacity of a state to provide
for its own well-being and
development free from the
domination of other states,
providing it does not impair or violate
their legitimate rights.
 Inviolabili
ty of
territory
Article 2: Every State has the right to exercise Self-
jurisdiction over its territory and over all persons preservati
and things therein, subject to the immunities
on
recognized by international law.
Article 12: Every State has the right of
individual or collective self-defence
➜ The right of a state to
against armed attack.
exercise jurisdiction over its
territory and permanent
population, or the right to
engage upon an act of self-
defence in certain situations.
 ➜ Equality of legal rights and
duties.
Juridical States, irrespective of size or
equality power, have the same juridical
capacities and functions, and are
likewise entitled to one vote in the
United Nations General Assembly.
 3- Duties of
states

Non-Interference in the Article 3: Every State has the duty to

refrain from intervention in the internal
internal affairs of states
or external affairs of any other State.

Article 4: Every State has the duty to refrain

Respect for sovereignty from fomenting civil strife in the territory of
another State, and to prevent the
organization within its territory of activities
calculated to foment such civil strife.
 Article 8: Every State has the duty to settle its
disputes with other States by peaceful means in
such a manner that international peace and
security, and justice, are not endangered.
Article 9: Every State has the duty to refrain from
Non-aggression resorting to war as an instrument of national
policy, and to refrain from the threat or use of
force against the territorial integrity or political
independence of another State, or in any other
manner inconsistent with international law and
order.
Article 10: Every State has the duty to refrain
from giving assistance to any State which is
Condemnation of
acting in violation of article 9, or against which
subversive activities the United Nations is taking preventive or
carried out from one enforcement action.
state and aimed Article 11: Every State has the duty to refrain
against another: from recognizing any territorial acquisition by
another State acting in violation of article 9.
 Article 6: Every State has the duty to treat all
persons under its jurisdiction with respect for
Respect for HR and
human rights and fundamental freedoms,
FF: without distinction as to race, sex, language,
or religion.

Article 7: Every State has the duty to ensure

Respect international
that conditions prevailing in its territory do not
norms menace international peace and order.

The execution of Article 13: Every State has the duty to carry out in
good faith its obligations arising from treaties and
international
other sources of international law, and it may not
obligations in good invoke provisions in its constitution or its laws as an
faith: excuse for failure to perform this duty.

Article 14: Every State has the duty to conduct its

relations with other States in accordance with
Surpremacy of IL international law and with the principle that the
sovereignty of each State is subject to the
supremacy of international law.
 4- The implications of State’s full legal
personality
Under international law it is States that possess full, objective legal
personality, endowing them with full legal capacity with respect to
rights, powers, and obligations within that legal system.
Within international law, these include: the ability to appear before
international tribunals (or national tribunals) in order to enforce rights
under international law; to be subject to obligations under international
law; to make binding international agreements (treaties); and to enjoy
some or all immunities.
 5- Limitation on State
Sovereignty
State’s sovereignty can be subject to several limitations under
International Law.
State Responsibility: It is a general principle of international law that
a breach of an international obligation entails the responsibility of
The Nicaragua v. United States (1986) case before the International Court of
the state concerned.
Justice (ICJ) addressed the U.S.'s support for Contra rebels in Nicaragua, which
violated Nicaragua's sovereignty. The ICJ ruled that the U.S. had committed
unlawful acts, including the use of force and violations of international law,
such as interference in Nicaragua’s internal affairs. The court ordered the U.S.
to cease its actions and pay reparations. However, the U.S. did not comply,
demonstrating the complexities of enforcing international rulings against
powerful states.
 II. International
Organisations as
subjects of International
Law
With developments in international law
especially the establishment of the UN,
other non-state actors like international
organizations have emerged and it
has become clear that States are not the
only subjects of international law.
There are different types of international organizations, these
include:

(a) Universal Organizations: which are also known as “open”

organizations.
Membership of such an organization is not restricted to any region, but is
open to all states satisfying its membership requirements. An example is
the UN.
(b) Regional Organizations: These are “organizations created by
States that share a common geographic or policy bond”. Membership is
restricted to a particular group of States. Example: States of a particular
region like the AU, or States with a common policy like NATO.
 (c) Supranational Organizations: These are hybrid organizations composed
of States.
They are structured in a way similar to federal States. They make decisions
binding
directly on member States and their nationals, and their laws have supremacy
over,
and override conflicting, national laws of member States. A typical example is
the
EU. The EU is established in such a way that EU law does not only bind member
States which it regulates, but has direct effect on the nationals of these member
States.
Rights and obligations created by EU law must be upheld by the domestic courts
of
member States.
The Legal Personality of the UN
All legal persons are not equal and do not necessarily possess the same
rights and obligations. In international law, an entity which exercises
international rights, duties and powers distinct from its members on the
international plane, is said to possess international legal personality. Such
entities are referred to as “subjects of international law‟.

In 1948, the question arose on whether the UN was a subject of

international law possessing the capacity to bring an international claim
for reparation of injuries suffered. The General Assembly by Resolution
258 (III) submitted this question to the ICJ for an advisory opinion on the
status and capacity of the United Nations under international law.
The "injuries" referred to in this case occurred during
the assassination of Count Folke Bernadotte, a United
Nations mediator, in Jerusalem. Count Bernadotte was
tasked with mediating between conflicting parties
during the Arab-Israeli conflict. His death raised the
question of whether the UN, as an organization, could
seek reparations for harm caused to its agents
(individuals working for the UN) in the course of their
official duties.

The ICJ examined the nature and powers of the UN as

described in its founding document, the UN Charter.
Although the Charter did not explicitly state that the UN
had legal personality, the ICJ inferred this from the roles
and rights the UN was already exercising. The court
reasoned that the UN was functioning in ways that could
 The ICJ concluded that:
- The UN is an "international person," meaning it is a subject of
international law with rights and duties + The UN has the legal capacity to
act on the international stage, including bringing claims to protect its
rights.

Although the Charter did not expressly confer international legal

personality on the UN, “the organization was intended to exercise and
enjoy, and is in fact exercising and enjoying functions and rights which can
only be explained on the basis of possession of a large measure of
international personality, and the capacity to operate upon an
international plane ... its Members, by entrusting certain functions to it,
with the attendant duties and responsibilities, have clothed it with the
competence required to enable those functions to be effectively
discharged”.
 The member states of the UN collectively assigned specific roles,
responsibilities, and powers to the organization. For example,
maintaining international peace and security, promoting human
rights, and fostering international cooperation.
Along with these roles, the UN must fulfill certain obligations, such as
protecting its personnel, resolving conflicts, and ensuring its operations
align with its charter's objectives.
By granting these powers and responsibilities, member states
effectively gave the UN the legal capacity and authority to
perform its functions and to act as an independent entity in
international law.
This means that for the UN to carry out its responsibilities effectively, it
must have certain capabilities, such as the ability to enter into
agreements, take legal action, or bring international claims.
Based on the conclusion of the ICJ, the UN, and by extension other
international organizations, possesses international legal personality.
Not all international organizations possess international legal personality;
an organization may exist but lack the organs and objects necessary for
legal personality. Sometimes the legal personality of an international
organization is
expressly stated in its constitutive treaty however this is relatively rare.
What thenare the criteria for assessing whether an international
organization possesses international legal personality?
Three Approaches to International Legal Personality:
1. The Subjective Approach
- Definition: This approach argues that an international organization's legal
personality depends entirely on the explicit will of its member states as
expressed in its constitutive treaty (e.g., the UN Charter).
- Key Idea :
- States must clearly and intentionally grant legal personality in the
organization's founding document.
- There is no automatic recognition of personality; it is a deliberate
decision by the member states.
- Implication: If the treaty doesn't explicitly grant legal personality, the
organization might lack it under this approach.
2. The Objective Approach
- Definition: This approach ties an international organization's legal
personality to certain objective criteria, regardless of explicit attribution by
states.
- Key Idea:
- If the organization meets certain conditions (e.g., having independent
organs, distinct purposes, and the ability to act separately from its
members), it automatically acquires legal personality under general
international law.
- Personality arises from the organization's characteristics and role, not
just the will of states.
- Implication: An organization that meets these criteria would be
recognized as having international legal personality even without explicit
acknowledgment by its member states.
3. The Implied Powers or Functional Approach
- Definition: This is a hybrid of the subjective and objective approaches,
asserting that an organization's legal personality arises from its functions
and powers, even if not explicitly granted in the treaty.
- Key Idea:
- Legal personality is indirectly derived from the organization's purposes,
the powers needed to achieve them, and its ability to act independently of
its members.
- Evidence of personality includes the organization's exercise of rights and
responsibilities that demonstrate its separate will.
- Application by the ICJ:
- In the Reparations Case, the ICJ used this approach by considering both
objective criteria (such as distinct organs and purposes) and the implied
intentions of the founding states (as evident in the rights and privileges
granted to the UN).
- This approach justified recognizing the UN as having international legal
personality without explicit mention in the UN Charter.
Brownlie's Criteria for Personality:
• Permanence: A long-term association of states with lawful objectives
and functional organs.
• Distinct Legal Identity: The organization must have legal powers and
purposes separate from its member states.
• International Powers: The organization must operate internationally,
beyond national legal systems.
• Implications of Non-Compliance:
• Organizations that fail these criteria are seen as mere extensions of
states, lacking independent legal identity
Extent of Legal Personality
• Limited Legal Capacity:
Unlike states, which have comprehensive international rights and duties,
international organizations’ rights are tied to their functions and the
powers granted by their founding treaties.
• ICJ Opinions:
Reparations Case: Organizations have implied powers essential for
fulfilling their duties.
UN Tribunal Case: Establishing a tribunal, even if not explicitly stated in
the UN Charter, was necessary for efficient functioning
Rights and Duties of International Organizations

• Treaty Rights: Entering into international agreements.

• Immunity: Protection from jurisdiction in member states.
• Agent Protection: Safeguards for officials operating abroad.
• Legation Rights: Sending and receiving diplomatic missions.
• Reparations Claims: Pursuing compensation for damages caused by
states.

Duties:
• Includes compensating for damages caused by the organization or its
agents
Conclusi
on
States and international organizations play a key role as subjects of
international law, each possessing distinct legal capacities, rights, and
obligations that define the structure of the international legal system.
States are the primary subjects of international law, characterized by their
sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence. Their legal personality
allows them to exercise rights such as participation in treaties, while also
bearing obligations like respecting human rights. As quch, their sovereignty
is not absolute, but limited by international norms.
International organizations, on the other hand, have emerged as secondary
subjects. They play an essential role in fostering cooperation among states,
addressing global challenges, and maintaining peace and security.
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