7 Immunity, 7.7 Entico Corporation Ltd v UNESCO, 18 March 2008, [2008] EWHC 531 (Comm), [2008] 2 All ER (Comm) 97

Subject(s):

Human rights remedies — Immunity from jurisdiction — Responsibility of international organizations — Judgments

Entico v UNESCO provides the most detailed examination to date by a court in the UK of the relationship between the immunity of an international organization, UNESCO, and the right of access to a court, as it is implied in the interpretation of art. 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. It raises an interesting question about the applicability of the much-cited judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Waite and Kennedy in the context of a UN Specialised Agency. The case teaches us that the huge variety of international organizations means that the extent of their immunities must be fashioned in the case of each organization to meet their particular functional needs. This suggests that the national court needs to approach generalizations with care, and a full appreciation of the international legal context that governs the organization in question.