Functions and Roles of International Organizations - Assignment Example

Topic: Why do international organizations enjoy certain immunities? In your view, should international organizations be entitled to such immunities? Refer to examples of international organizations and their immunities in your response Author Affiliation Date Introduction Only with the help of international laws and international organizations the concept of globalization has become possible in this world. The treaties, agreement and contracts between different countries are based on the international laws and the trust between the countries is created by the international organizations[Jos05]. Globalization has made tremendous progress in every field of the world and it has become possible because international organizations have set and formulate various laws to deal with different problems of the countries. The role of international laws and international organizations are expanding day by day, even globalization has brought various new responsibilities of the international law and international organizations[Int13]. Before the advent of globalization, international law deals with the issues and address the solutions to the issues within some specific because it had few specific powers. Moreover, the power of international law was depended on the territory and sovereignty boundaries of the specific states[Jan091]. On the other hand, now international law has changed in many ways like now international laws also facilitate the process of developing harmony among different states and also promote good relationship between the countries[CFA05]. Moreover, now international law also becomes a vehicle where different counties or state cooperate regarding new issues like climatic changes, emergent terrorism threats, promotion of trade and many others[NDW05]. In addition, it also creates awareness of the issues that have created disastrous impacts in the history. The platform where all the international laws formulated and implemented is known as international organizations. In this research paper, the role, power, function of international organization will be discussed with the detailed analysis of weaknesses and strengths of the organization. Moreover the evaluation of different international law will also be discussed, but the main focus of the research is to study the immunities that are enjoyed by the different international organization with their outcomes and consequences. Power, functions and roles of international organizations International organizations play important roles and perform various functions like law making, formulate decision taking methods and different perform judicial functions. Moreover, international organizations also act as treaty maker on an international platform. The purpose and aim of international organizations is to perform that function that will prove beneficial for its member states[Jan091]. All state members set certain goals and objectives for the international organization and international organizations are the platform through which the objectives are trying to achieve. It has undisputedly decided that the international organization can take decisions and also formulate different laws for the welfare of the state members and the world[Jan091]. There are certain powers of the state members that they can exercise anytime[Jan09]. There are different organizations that are working to achieve different goals and functions. The most important and vigilant international organizations are world health organization (WHO), the United Nations (UN), European union (EU), world trade organization (WTO), the international civil aviation (ICAO), the organization of American states (OAS), the organization for economic Co-operation and development (OAS), Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), international monetary fund (IMF), African union (AU) and any others[JMe12]. All these organizations work on different principles and for achieving different purpose. Like international monetary fund is an international organization that provides loans and grants to developing, developed and under-developing countries. The sole purpose of international monetary funds is to offer financial grants for the developing purpose. The board of international monetary fund includes the members of developed countries. The member of the board makes different policies and set different laws and the country who wants that grant have to abide the all laws and regulations of the organization[Mar141]. It is the example of only one organization, there are some other international organizations, who hold different purpose and vigilantly working for the welfare of the people of the World. They set their own principles, laws, policies and regulations. Strengths and weaknesses of the international organizations Even all the international organizations have one thing in common which is they promote peace, interdependence, democracy and welfare of the people[Bru01]. On the other hand, these common agendas are the main strengths of the international organizations. Democracy is considered as the best form of governance where everyone has a right to speak for their right and everyone is a critic. Therefore, democracy is the strength of the international organization because democratization always decreases the incidences of conflicts and disputes[Man96]. The aim of promoting democracy also creates alliance between different democratic countries. In addition, democratization also promotes trade and good relationship among the members of the international organization[Jag95]. Second, promotion of interdependence also brings potential advantages to the international organization like the world trade organization (WTO) promotes interdependence in the real sense to increase the world trade. The WTO also tries to resolve the conflicts between the member states and explains the importance of trade. Through the promotion of interdependence the WTO has succeeded in increasing the ratio of international trade[Gow93]. Moreover, peace is the top priority and the main strength of the United Nation (UN) which has only one aim to that is peace and in many ways UN successfully achieving its aims and become the powerful organization of the world[Uni13]. On the other hand, these internal organizations have also many weaknesses. Sometimes, they violate the limits of the laws. Moreover, many international organizations are facing several situational, structural and legal issues. Sometimes their principles and agendas becomes the source of criticism. To avoid the criticism, the international organizations have formulated many laws for their immunities and by using that law, they can enjoy those powers that sometimes proves unjustified and unfair in the eye of law. Evaluation of different international laws International laws are international rules that are set by the international organizations. The international law can be defined as “the rules and principles of general applications that are dealing with the conducts of states and international organizations”[Bec10]. Moreover, international laws also applicable to the minority group, private and multinational companies. States, international organizations and individual or multinational companies are sometimes called as international legal personalities that have a right and obligations under the international laws[PSa09]. The generally accepted sources of the international laws are; international conventions that are also known as treaties[CFA05], international customs in which general practices of the society have become the laws, the general principles of the laws and the last source of international law is the judicial decision of the international court of justice[Chr01]. Treaties are the written agreement between the states for specific purposes. Vienna convention on the law of treaties that have all the basic principles of treaty law. It contains the procedures and rules of how the states are bound to each other on different issues and how they enter into force[Uni99]. Moreover, it also explains the punishment and penalties of breaching the treaty[Jos05]. Thus, Vienna Convention provides the detailed analysis of the international laws and its procedure and policies. It can help the states to understand the nature of specific treaty, but at the same time international organizations enjoys several favors and immunities in Vienna conventions[Uni99]. In addition, the laws that are formulated on the basis of the general principle of laws and general customs are of basic kind and it is generally acceptable and fully enforced throughout the world. The laws that formulated by the subsidiary sometimes also reflect the favor and gives immunity to several others international organizations that can raise many concerns and international organizations can avoid accountability and transparency with the help of such the immunities that are provided by the international subsidiary judicial commissions. Immunities for international organizations The international organizations are enjoying various immunities in the international law. The international organizations immunity act 1945[Uni45] gives several immunities and privileges to the special group. The special group includes the members of foreign and international organizations and these members are enjoying various immunities and many members of international organizations are exempt from US taxes and also exempt from search and seize law. The members of the staff of international organizations submit their application, then the office of the legal adviser and Bureau of international organization affairs review, evaluate and approved the application[USD06]. The members of the international organization who can enjoy certain immunities must fulfil some requirement to become the part of the special group. The requirements for considering and giving admittance to the member are designed by the special body of the international organization. Such an immunity promotes prejudice and biases in the world. It also raises many questions and concerns on the accountability and transparency of the international organizations. Moreover, international organizations are also immune from court of jurisdiction that has been drawn in 1946.Such a kind of conventions sometimes also violates human rights. The biggest example is United Nation, which is enjoying such an immunity. Validity of the immunities The immunities and privileges that are being enjoyed by the international organization many times proves protective shield for the organization and its staff. The immunities act as the protector of the court of jurisdictions. The international organizations explains the validity of such immunities by calling these immunities as functional immunities and also elaborate the importance of functional immunities[Jan091]. According to international organizations these functioning immunities are very important to ensure the independent functioning of the organizations[Aug13]. In the functional immunity the international organizations have unlimited immunity from the jurisdictions of national courts. United Nation is the organizations that holds unlimited and absolute immunity like immunity from national courts, immunity from suits and general convention of the immunity also explains the different immunity for the United Nations. Not only United Nation but many other international organizations enjoys the functional immunity, which is not defined in any constitution or any instrument of the law. Nevertheless, some of the subsidiary instruments like bilateral headquarter agreements and different multilateral agreements also provides unqualified immunity from the suit and makes functional immunity a valid and purposeful initiative or policy for the international organizations. Moreover, many national courts have also considered absolute and functional immunity as a need and requirement of the international law under national customary laws and also give many justifications to prove the validity of the immunities of international laws[Aug10]. Moreover, in some cases the immunities that are being enjoyed by the international organization are legitimate and valid. The typical example of Article of Agreement of the World Bank[The12] and other development bank in which it allows the owner of private company to sue the governmental organization. Such an immunity is valid and justifiable. On the other hand, in the same Article of Agreement some tort actions are exempt from the immunities which is not valid it also needs some compensations and immunities[Sch951]. In addition, sometimes when the international organizations cross the limits of the functional immunities than the validity of such an acts also questioned by the national courts. In such a case the national court warns the international organization and ask them that their activities fall outside the scope of functional immunity[Aug13]. It is also true many times international organizations fall outside the scope of immunities, but has never faced the court because of such a powerful immunity, such acts create problems for the people and can easily violate the human rights. Consequences and the outcomes of unjust immunities The immunities that are being enjoyed by the international organizations have also many consequences. The significant and most discussed example that shows that the real injustice and also explained the world that immunities are not valid is genocide in Srebrenica in which UN decided not to face and attend the court because of the immunity. Thus, finally UN proved immune and the government of Srebrenica proved responsible and charged with the penalty of having the different separate litigation than the international law. Finally the decision of came into the favor of the UN[Gui10]. The incidence of genocide of Srebrenica and the final decision has raised many questions like the questions on the competencies of the UN, the nature of the immunities and the role state and its national law. This was the example of immunity that is being enjoyed by the international organization from the jurisdictions of national courts. The other types of immunities are foreign and diplomatic immunities of international organizations[Gra89]. The diplomatic and members of international organization are also exempt from various taxes and enjoy various privileges. The immunities of such kind also raise the questions like what is the criteria of selection of the members of the foreign group. Likewise, the states and nationality of the member do influence in such the selection criteria. The diplomatic immunity raises many concerns on the accountability of the international organization. The immunity that is facing a lot of criticism is the state immunity provided to the international organization in the international law[Gra89]. Many consequences the world and its people are facing because of state immunity[Lor11]. In such an immunity, some powerful members of the state has a power to defend their selves as the pre-emptive policy. They can have a war or fight with any of the country that has potential threat to them or to their sovereignty. The biggest example is United States after the incidence of 9/11, it was started believing that it has potential threat from Afghanistan so the Bush Administration announced the war against terror[Hel15] in which many international organizations like the United Nations and NATO all support the initiation of war. In that war, many innocent people died even are dying now a days, but all the international organizations are quiet and international law is silent because of state immunity that the United States hold. Moreover, it is the major financier of United Nation so it has such an immunity in the international law. It is the clear violation of human rights. Moreover, it is the matter of concern because unjustified and invalid immunities are the root cause of frustration depression among the people of the world. Conclusion To sum up, it can be concluded that international organization is the platform where peace, equality, law, interdependence and democracy are promoted by the state members. All the international organizations have certain aims and objective that cover many welfare issues of the people the world. International organizations also are the law making agencies that formulate and implement laws and such a law are known as international laws. At the same time, where international organizations and international laws play vital roles, they have also many structural and situational limitations. The biggest limitation that raises many concerns are their invalid and unjustifiable immunities that harm the world and its people in many ways. Thus, such an immunities need suitable alternatives to make the credibility of international organizations and international law unquestionable. 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