Universität Wien
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030238 SE Seminar in International Law: International Organizations in the Work of the ILC (2026S)

From Treaties, Relations to States, Responsibility to Dispute Settlement (for undergraduate and graduate students)

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 3 - Rechtswissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 20 participants
Language: German, English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Wednesday 11.03. 17:00 - 19:00 Seminarraum SEM43 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 4.OG (Kickoff Class)
  • Monday 22.06. 09:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum SEM33 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 3.OG
  • Tuesday 23.06. 09:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum SEM33 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 3.OG

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Since 1947, the International Law Commission (ILC) has addressed specific topics of international organizations law, such as the 1975 Vienna Convention on the Representation of States in their Relations with International Organizations of a Universal Character, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties concluded by International Organizations, the 2011 Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations, and its current work on the settlement of disputes involving international organizations. In addition, the ILC has also addressed the role and activities of international organizations in its work on other topics, such as the ‘Identification of Customary International Law’, ‘Subsequent agreements and subsequent practice in relation to interpretation of treaties’, ‘General Principles of Law’ and ‘Subsidiary Means for the determination of rules of international law’.

This seminar will address all these encounters of the ILC with international organizations. Students are requested to select a seminar paper on the basis of the topics listed below.

Assessment and permitted materials

Seminar paper, presentation of the paper and participation in the discussion during the seminar sessions.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Seminar paper consisting of 50,000 characters roughly 20 pages (70%), oral presentation of the paper and active participation during the seminar sessions (30%). This seminar requires regular attendance.

Examination topics

The topics of the seminar papers are discussed and assigned in the preliminary meeting.

Topics
• International organizations as defined in the work of the ILC
• The legal status of international organizations under international law
• The role of international organizations in the formation and identification of customary international law, general principles and peremptory rules of general international law, as well as in the interpretation of treaties and in regard to subsidiary means for the determination of rules of international law
• The 1975 Vienna Convention on the Representation of States in their Relations with International Organizations of a Universal Character
• The 1986 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties concluded by International Organizations
• The 2011 Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations
• The ILC’s current work on settlement of disputes involving international organizations

Reading list

Preliminary Bibliography

• ILA Committee on Accountability of International Organisations, Final Report 2004, Report of the 71st Conference Berlin (2004), 164, also available at https://www.ila-hq.org/index.php/committees.
• ILC Reports on responsibility of international organizations, available at http://legal.un.org/ilc/.
• The settlement of international disputes to which international organizations are parties, available at https://legal.un.org/ilc/reports/2016/english/annex.pdf

Literatur/Bibliography

Laurence Boisson de Chazournes/Cesare Romano/Ruth Mackenzie (eds), International Organizations and International Dispute Settlement: Trends and Prospects (Martinus Nijhoff 2002).
Rishi Gulati, Access to Justice and International Organisations, Coordinating Jurisdiction between the National and Institutional Legal Orders. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2022.
Jan Klabbers/Åsa Wallendahl (eds.), Research Handbook on the Law of International Organizations (Edward Elgar 2011).
Matthew Parish, ‘An essay on the Accountability of International Organizations’ (2010) 7 International Organizations Law Review 277-342.
August Reinisch, ‘Securing the Accountability of International Organizations’ (2001) 7 Global Governance 131-149.
August Reinisch (ed), Challenging Acts of International Organizations Before National Courts (OUP 2010).
August Reinisch (ed) The Privileges and Immunities of International Organizations in Domestic Courts (OUP 2013).
August Reinisch (ed.), The Conventions on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations and Its Specialized Agencies: A Commentary. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016.
Schermers, Henry, and Blokker, Niels, International Institutional Law: Unity Within Diversity, 6th ed. Leiden/Boston, Brill/Nijhoff, 2018.
Pierre Schmitt, Access to Justice and International Organizations (Edward Elgar 2017).
Guglielmo Verdirame, The UN and Human Rights: Who Guards the Guardians? (CUP 2011).
Karel Wellens, Remedies Against International Organizations (CUP 2002).
Jan Wouters/Eva Brems/Stefaan Smis/Pierre Schmitt (eds), Accountability for Human Rights Violations by International Organisations (Intersentia 2010).
Nassib Ziadé (ed), Problems of International Administrative Law: On the Occasion of the Twentieth Anniversary of the World Bank Administrative Tribunal (Martinus Nijhoff 2008).

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 09.02.2026 10:05