Part II The Treaty-Makers, 8 NGOs in International Treaty-Making

Subject(s):

NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) — Law of treaties

This chapter surveys the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in treatymaking. It asks four key questions about the relationship between NGOs and treatymaking. First, what roles do NGOs play today in treaty processes, and how have these roles changed? Second, what explains the increased prominence of NGOs? Third, are NGOs a salutary addition to treatymaking or illegitimate special interests? And finally, Fourth, what is the broader significance of NGO activity for international law and international order? NGOs are clearly important players in treatymaking today. But their roles remain, to a large degree, circumscribed and controlled by States. At the most fundamental level, the presence of NGOs in contemporary treatymaking and implementation is a sign of the expansion of the domain of treatymaking.