A Venture into Legal Theory

Abstract

This chapter presents a novel theory on the concept of an international organization. It discusses the meaning of legal systems in legal pluralism, against the background of the fragmentation of international law and interlegality. It relies on the analytical theory of Hart and the institutionalism of Santi Romano. Two notions are applied to international organizations: relative/absolute legality and original/derived legal systems. The absolute legality of the rules of international organizations is a combination of the derivative nature of the legal system that produces them and the point of view of the legal system in which the rules are implemented. The conclusion is that international organizations are dual entities: ‘international organization means an institution established by a treaty or other instrument governed by international law and capable of creating a legal system which derives from international law and that produces law which is at the same time internal and international’.