Part VIII International Institutional Law, Ch.50 The Law of the International Civil Service

Subject(s):

Membership of international organizations — International organizations, practice and procedure — Resolutions of international organizations

The law of the international civil service is an essential feature of the contemporary phenomenon of international organizations (IOs). It raises, however, complex theoretical and practical issues that have been discussed for decades but are yet to be fully resolved, including its relationship with the international legal order, the legal nature of the relations it regulates, and whether it can be construed as a single integrated field of law. This chapter focuses on the nature of the field of law of the international civil service and the identification of its sources of law. Through the establishment of standards governing the relationship between the organization and its staff members, the law of international civil service fulfils the double role of guaranteeing conditions of service adequate to the achievement of the goals enshrined in the constituent act and of protecting officials from undue external pressures.