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NL Brterpationat institutionat latp 6) A classic theme: interdependence and state sovereignty }

SL. As human beings, we are constantly drawn closer to our fellow men. Today, the people of Amsterdam see and hear more of the peoples of the United States, Russia and Africa than they did two hundred years ago of the townspeople of The Hague. The world is increasingly being transformed into a ‘global village’. As a conse+ uence of modern means of communication, the wer bevond cur borders is broug t into our living rooms, broadening horizons and heightening awareness of the major problems of our world. Many of these problems have attained a dimension stretching far beyond national boundaries, requiring international solutions.

82. Such international solutions must be developed in a world which is primarily organized in a state centric way. The state continues to be the su. reme form of »olitical or: anization in the world-This is reflected in the concept of state sovereignty.

However, it cannot be denied that states have become increasingly ìnterdependent. For example, while one of the classic functions of the state®is to defend or -reserve national securit hardl any state is in the position ta perform this task alone, since modern weaponry as necessitated international cooperation. ” ually it ie in the mutual interest of states that unhampered post, telephone and fax communication between their citizens is guaranteed. Similarly, with regard to international rivers, it ie in the common interest of riparian states that freedom of navigation is assured (Rhine, Danube) or that arrangements are made for the development of water resources (Niger river, Mekong basin). Additionally, it has been gradually reco ' ed since 1945 that international coo: eration is im-erative for the rotectian « human rights.



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Human rights conventions and other standards have been drafted anq supervisory mechanisms created to ensure their respect.

83. Thus, a tension can be seen to exist between the formal independence (sovereignty) of states and their actual interdependence. This can be identified

as a classic theme, since it has frequently emerged in early as well as recent writings. This may be illustrated by the following quotations.

L “The foundation-stone of this work [ -of the UN] is and must remain the state. Respect for its fundamental sovereignty and integrity are crucial to any common international

progress”,

U. The “vision of a world divided into isolated compartments is not a true reflection of facts as they exist ín a large portion of the earth today. A modern state […] is not an isolated independent unit […]. It ís in perpetual and intimate and intricate relationship with other states; it cannot carry on the work of internal government, legislative or administrative, which modern conditions of life require, without continual cooperation […]; complete

independence today is merely a legal fiction”.

At first sight, it may be somewhat difficult to believe that the first quotation dates from 1992 (the Agenda for Peace, prepared by the Secretary-General of the United Nations), while the second quotation is taken from L.S. Woolf’s book International Government, published in 1916. This however demonstrates that, even in the beginnin ofthiscen : ,the mutual dependence of

states was recó ed, an _also : at, even at : e end of the century, the noon o s ate sovereignty still retains its fundamental tm sortance.

Dd 84. This classic theme has produced the paradox ‘that, in order to exercise their functions and to remain as inde» « dent as vossible, states are forced to coo» rate due to the unavois as e reali * of in « « 4e -ndence. To a certain extent, international coo» - ation allows them to control external influences.”

Some specific examples illustrate this paradox.

The UK Foreign Secretary Hurd stated, in a speech about the Treaty on European Union: “It is against our fundamental interests so to isolate ourselves from the continent of Europe

gn

1. _ The quotations are from para. 17 of the Agenda for Peace (UN Doc. A/47/277 and S/24111), and from International Government, at 345-346. Both quotations are taken from parts of these publications, in which also attention is given to the other element, i.einterdependence in the case of the Agenda for Peace, and state sovereignty in the case of Woolf’s book.

2 _ See also J.-V. Louis, The Community Legal Order 14 (2nd rev. ed, 1990).


fhat policies are organized there which deeply affect our security or our prosperity but in which we have no important say. If that were to happen we could keep our sovereignty ss a sogn but its substance would have gone”

Another example is Article 1 of the Charter of the Organization of American States, which provides, inter alia: “The American states establish by this Charter the international organization that they have developed to achieve an order of peace and justice, to promote their solidarity, to strengthen their collaboration, and to defend. their sovereignty, their territorial integrity, and their independence”.

In 1993, de German constitutional court considered in its judgment concerning the Treaty on European Union: “The member states have established the European Union in order to exercise a part of their functions in common and to that extent to exercise their sovereignty in common (‘um (….] ihre Souverinität gemeinsam auszuüben')”*

$5. Itis not purely accidental that these examples all deal with international organizations. Particularly in the course of this century, international cooperation between states has increasingiy been structured within the framework of international organizations, which are created by states to cope with the consequences of increasing interdependence. They reconcile the wish of states to remain independent with the reality of a growing list of transboundary problems.

The creation and functioning of international organizations on the international stage did not relegate sovereign states to the wings. On the contrary, states remain the leadin: actors in international relations.” Nevertheless, international or: anizations, the subject of our study, »erform an im « ortant suppor ___g role and indeed, it is impossible to imagine contemporary international life without them.

G) Objectivesf »

$6, This study aims to fulfil three objectives. Firso examine in detail the Institutional law of international or: anizations, to see how different organizaBons have dealt wis: ++ ar institutional problems. The second goal is much More practica{b contribute to + »rovements in the structure and functioning Sf international organizations. Thirdl:&% e aim to offer a general framework

mensne Al

& Speech to the European Policy Forum, London, 1 October 1992. The text of this speech has been obtained from the Information Section of the British Embassy in the NetherEme judgment has been reproduced in 20 EuGRZ 429-446 (1993); quotation at 439. The g English translation has been published in CMLR 57-109 (1994); quotation at 90. The observation by the International Court of Justice in the Reparation for Injuries Case that the United Nations is “certainly not” a state, and still less “a super-state” is as much true today as it was in 1949 (IC] Rep. 1949, at 179).