On the Notion of Precarious Employment in International Organizations

Abstract

International civil servants form part of the essential fabric of international organizations, but some of the hiring modalities of these institutions appear at first glance to pursue an endemic employment malpractice. However, the practice referred to in national labour markets as ‘precarious employment’ appears to be necessary for international organizations to carry out their constitutional mission, and which is essential if they are to adapt and evolve. Both constitutionalist and functionalist standpoints recognise that precarious employment is an existing phenomenon within international institutions. Nevertheless, such hiring practices also arguably have the effect of partially severing the loyalty of an international organization’s staff, which is seen as a fundamental component supporting the effective functioning of an international institution. A functionalist approach therefore largely explains this hiring reality among international organizations; but international administrative tribunals and the limits established by them also play a part, indicating that more constitutionalist elements of control are also present. This paper presents the axiomatic elements of the hiring practices of international organizations, and seeks to unearth an apparent meeting point between the understandings of constitutionalists and functionalists that indicate that international law is evolving.