The Evolution of CSOs’ Legal Status in International Governance and Its Relevance for the Legitimacy of International Organizations

Abstract

This chapter introduces the concept of the legal personality of non-state actors as an indicator of the democratic legitimacy of international organizations (IOs). Both normatively and empirically based policy proposals tend to suggest an augmented role of the new actors — mainly civil society organizations (CSOs) or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) — in overcoming the legitimacy deficit of IOs. However, if the participation of non-state actors in international governance is to be effective, efficient and have a meaningful and lasting effect, institutional rights and duties are required — and, with them, legal personality. Thus, the legal personality of non-state actors can be taken as a minimum safeguard clause for surmounting the legitimacy deficit of international organizations (the normative approach). It can also be used as a helpful analytical framework for organizing empirical data on the participation of these actors in IOs (the empirical approach). This chapter evaluates the legal rights and duties of NGOs in their co-operation with more than 30 international organizations, and seeks to assess whether this implies that they have acquired legal personality — and, if so, what quality this personality assumes. Such a comparative study is a novelty in both political science and international law. By combining the perspectives of two different disciplines, this chapter illustrates the intrinsic empirical and theory-building value of (international) positive law in political science.KeywordsEuropean UnionUnited NationsWorld Trade OrganizationLegal StatusEuropean Central BankThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.