The Responsibility Of The Member States Of International Organizations Vis-à-vis Third Parties

The most difficult and interesting topic in the field of the responsibility of international organization concerns the responsibility of the member states of an organization towards third parties for internationally wrongful acts undertaken by the organization. This topic has significance on the operations of the organization, as well as the protection of the rights of third parties and the reduction in violations of the law by deterrence. Based on the extensive survey of the existing law, including the writers'opinions on this topic, an attempt will be made to formulate the proposed regime concerning the international responsibility of the member states of an international organization towards the third parties. Besides the Introduction and Conclusions, this dissertation is mainly composed of four chapters.The purpose of the first chapter is to deal with the general features of the responsibility of the member states of an international organization towards third parties, concerning the elements of subject and object. It will lay down the scope of this study.The second chapter will be devoted to examine the existing law as reflected in the relevant materials to be found in the various sources of international law. The attention will be directed to two important judicial decisions, some constituent treaties of international organizations, the general principles of law as well as the newly development of international law on this topic.In the third chapter we shall analyze the principal alternative regimes concerning the international responsibility of the member states of an international organization towards third parties.Towards the end of the dissertation, as in the fourth chapter, we shall attempt to propose a suitable regime. The basic considerations are independent functioning of international organizations and adequate protection of the rights of third parties. The specific circumstances of each case should be taken into account indeed. While separate personality may be a prerequisite for the responsibility of the international organization, it is not necessarily sufficient to establish whether there is responsibility on the part of the member states. The balancing of the interests of international organizations and third parties will lead us to adopt three general steps in the formulation of the proposed regime. Firstly, the clear, common intentions of the parties, either explicit or implicit, should be respected. Also the current rules as codified in the 1995 Resolution of Institut de Droit International and the Draft Articles on Responsibility of International Organizations of International Law Committee should be observed. When there is no clear common international among the parties or neither of the codified rules is applicable, a distinction should be made between voluntary third parties and non-voluntary third parties. Different regimes concerning the international responsibility of the member states should be applied accordingly.