| Pub. Date | : July 2021 |
|---|---|
| Product Name | : The IUP Journal of Law Review |
| Product Type | : Article |
| Product Code | : IJLR10721 |
| Author Name | : Mohd Imran |
| Availability | : YES |
| Subject/Domain | : Arts & Humanities |
| Download Format | : PDF Format |
| No. of Pages | : 20 |
Despite the fact that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has never received any contentious or advisory case directly questioning the legal personality of any international organization, it has long been discussed and debated by the international courts and academic scholars. However, the international courts have received several cases challenging the "capacity" of some or the other international organizations. Those are cases where the courts have sought to clarify some issues related to the legal personality of international organizations. This paper empirically studies the statutes of 46 international organizations pertaining to legal personality. While the study suggests that there is no uniformity in language pertaining to the legal personality provisions, most of the statutes of international organizations have resorted to including the language focusing on the "legal capacity", specifying the powers of international organization. An attempt has been made to throw some light on the nuances that lie with the "legal capacity" and "legal personality" of international organizations.
Before the 1920s, only states were considered subjects of international law.1 The international
community changed its approach to look at international law after the establishment of some
powerful international organizations such as League of Nations and International Labour
Organization. The creation of the United Nations forced the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) to formulate some important requirements relating to the recognition of legal personality
of international organizations.2 For the purpose of bestowing a legal personality, each legal
system has developed its own requirements that may differ from state to state. The
requirements under Indian law may differ from those of United Kingdom or from those (if
any) posited by the international legal system.3 Though, each state grants the personality to
organizations under the requirements of domestic law, it is interesting to note that states do
not deny the legal personality of any organization if other state has so far recognized it.4
Wladyslaw Czaplinski argues that international personality is in principle
indivisible, and its scope should be the same with respect to all primary (states) and
secondary (all other subjects including non-state actors). However, there is a