REGULATING THE STATUS OF OFFICIALS OF THE REGIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS IN SOUTHEAST EUROPE: A QUEST FOR AN INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SERVICE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56461/SPZ_24203KJKeywords:
regional organisations, international civil service, administrative international law, international administrative tribunals, staff regulations.Abstract
The article explores how the constituent instruments and secondary rules of the selected three regional intergovernmental organisations in Southeast Europe (Energy Community, Transport Community, Regional School of Public Administration) have incorporated some key legal concepts related to the status of international officials - professional independence of international officials and exclusivity of international service; recruitment standards; and the legal remedies for protecting the rights of international officials. The article, at the first place, defines the notion of international civil service, and elaborates, based on the legal texts of a number of international organisations and theoretical writings, the international practice in regulating the above specified concepts. The article than analyses and assesses how these concepts have been addressed in the relevant legal documents of the selected organisations. Finally, the article concludes that the explored legal texts provide for the guarantees of professional independence of the officials and contain the elaborated rules on recruitment aiming at selecting qualified staff and ensuring the geographical equilibrium within the secretariats. However, certain shortages have been identified and explained in relation to the existence of adequate legal remedies for protecting staff, particularly through the judicial proceedings.
Downloads
References
Abbott, K. W. & Snidal, D. 1998. Why States Act through Formal International Organizations. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 42(1), pp. 3-32. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022002798042001001
Ago, S. 2020. What is 'International Administrative Law'? The Adequacy of this Term in Various Judgments of International Administrative Tribunals. In: Quayle, P. (ed.) The Role of International Administrative Law at International Organizations, Leiden/Boston: Brill Nijhoff, pp. 88-102. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004441033_005
Amerasinghe, C.F. 2005, Principles of the Institutional Law of International Organisations, 2nd edition, Cambrigde: Cambridge University Press.
Archer, C. 2001. International Organizations. London and New York: Routledge.
Barnett, M. N. & Finnemore, M. 1999. The Politics, Power, and Pathologies of International Organizations. International organization, 53(4), pp. 699-732. https://doi.org/10.1162/002081899551048
Bauer, M.W. & Ege, J. 2018, The Autonomy of International Bureaucracies, Preprint No. 89, pp. 1-19. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michael-Bauer-9/publication/319598171_The_autonomy_of_international_bureaucracies/links/5cab7d0a92851c64bd591a65/The-autonomy-of-international-bureaucracies.pdf (01.09.2023).
Bechev, D. 2006. Carrots, Sticks and Norms: The EU and Regional Cooperation in Southeast Europe. Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans, (8)1, pp. 27-43. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613190600595515
Bederman, D. J. 2002. The Spirit of International Law. Athens & London: University of Georgia Press.
Cassese, A. 2005. International law. 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Daillier, P., Forteau, M., & Pellet, A. 2010. Droit international public, Paris: LGDJ, Lextenso éditions.
Džananović, N. et al. 2021. The Impact of Regional Organisations and Initiatives in the Western Balkans, Skopje: Institute for Democracy "Societas Civilis". Available at https://humanityinaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/A5_The-Actual-Impact-of-Regional-Organizations-and-Initiatives-on-Regional-Cooperation-Integration-and-Good-Neighborly-Relations-in-the-Western-Balkans-Success-and-Limiting-Factors.pdf (18.08.2023).
Glodić, D. 2019. Regional Intergovernmental Organisations in the Balkans: The Legal and Institutional Issues. Banja Luka: Grafid.
Glodić, D. 2020. Role of International Law Instruments in Institutionalising Regional Cooperation in South East Europe. Strani pravni život, 64(4), pp. 41-53. https://doi.org/10.5937/spz64-29156
Holly, D. 1985. Bureaucratie internationale et détermination de la ligne générale des organisations internationales: le cas de l'UNESCO, Études internationales, 16(4), pp. 757-770. https://doi.org/10.7202/701925ar
Klabbers, J. 2015. The EJIL Foreword: The Transformation of International Organizations Law, The European Journal of International Law, 26(1), pp. 9-82. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chv009
Kreća, M. 2010. Međunarodno javno pravo, četvrto izdanje. Beograd: Pravni fakultet.
Krivokapić, B. 2013. Primat međunarodnog prava. Strani pravni život, 57(3), pp. 45-62.
Krivokapić, B. 2017. Međunarodno javno pravo, treće izdanje. Beograd: Poslovni i pravni fakultet, Institut za uporedno pravo.
Kryvoi, Y. 2015. The Law Applied by International Administrative Tribunals: From Autonomy to Hierarchy. George Washington International Law Review, 47, pp. 267-301.
Liese, A. et al. 2021. The Heart of Bureaucratic Power: Explaining International Bureaucracies' Expert Authority. Review of International Studies, 47(3), pp. 353-376. https://doi.org/10.1017/S026021052100005X
Lopandić, D., Kronja, J. 2010. Regionalne inicijative i multilateralna saradnja na Balkanu, II izdanje. Beograd: Evropski pokret Srbija/Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
Macy, J. W. 1970. Towards an International Civil Service. Public Administration Review, 30(3), pp. 258-263. https://doi.org/10.2307/974037
Malanczuk, P. 2002. Akehurst's Modern Introduction to International Law. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203427712
Marciacq, F. 2017The EU and the Western Balkans after the Berlin Process: Reflecting on the EU Enlargement in Times of Uncertainty, Sarajevo: FES. Available at: http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/sarajevo/13948.pdf, (12.01.2024).
Minić, J. 2019. Regionalni mehanizmi u procesu proširenja EU na zapadni Balkan. Spoljnopolitičke sveske, 1, pp. 25-30.
Plantey, A. & Loriot, F. 2005, Fonction publique internationale: organisations mondiales et européennes. CNRS Éditions via OpenEdition. https://doi.org/10.4000/books.editionscnrs.8866
Quayle, P. 2020. The Modern Multilateral Bureaucracy: What is the Role of International Administrative Law at International Organizations?. In: Quayle, P. (ed.) The Role of International Administrative Law at International Organizations, Leiden/Boston: Brill Nijhoff, pp. 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004441033_002
Rabrenović, A. 2014. Civil Service Pay and Benefit Systems in the Western Balkan Countries in the Time of Economic Downturn. Strani pravni život, 58(2), pp. 23-36.
Reymond, H. 1970. Some Unresolved Problems of the International Civil Service. Public Administration Review, 30(3), pp. 225-236. https://doi.org/10.2307/974032
Rosenne, S. 2004. The Perplexities of Modern International Law. Leiden, Boston: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
Šekarić, N. 2021. Zapadni Balkan: između konflikta i stabilnosti. In: Šekarić, N. and Trapara, V. (eds.), Regionalna bezbednost: pristupi, elementi, dinamika. Beograd: Institut za međunarodnu politiku i privredu, pp. 133-159. https://doi.org/10.18485/iipe_regbezb.2021.ch5
Vallejo, D. D. V. 2002. Les organisations internationales. Paris: Economica.
Legal documents:
Agreement establishing the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA). Available at: https://www.respaweb.eu/download/doc/Agreement+Establishing+ReSPA.pdf/5fadf37a7b6c171f109c1376ece066c6.pdf (30.10.2023).
Charter of the United Nations. Available at: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/full-text (30.10.2023).
Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. Available at: https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/constitution?TSPD_101_R0=080713870fab2000d0597f5632664691ce4e8cba474d32267d0d70fe540cd7b060266800540a20ca08e3f65a3f143000e50f0d1a075e182937c78c670b01c15a93f4d6dd7fd7021ec406c72defd89ce489bfff4d2c9f21f61b97e61885b43d7a (30.10.2023).
Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/about/document/oecd-convention.htm#Text (30.10.2023).
ECtHR, Waite and Kennedy v. Germany, Judgment of 18 February 1999.
Energy Community. 2024. Rules of Recruitment, Working Conditions and Geographical Equilibrium of the Secretariat Staff of The Energy Community. Available at: file:///C:/Users/Milena/Downloads/Rules_Recruitment_Consolidated_022024.pdf (30. 10. 2023).
Energy Community Treaty, Official Journal of the EU, L 198/18, 20.07.2006.
OECD. 2024. Staff Regulations, Rules and Instructions applicable to Officials of the Organisation. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/careers/Staff_Rules_EN.pdf (01.11.2023).
Procedural Act 2022/04/MC-EnC on Adopting the Secretariat's Organigram. Available at: https://www.energy-community.org/dam/jcr:0ce828fd-b0b9-4d7e-866e-22f689970e8f/20thMCPA202204_Organigramme_ECS_15-12-2022.pdf (10.10.2023).
Procedural Act 01/2020/PHLG-EnC amending the Procedural Act No. 01/2011/PHLG-EnC laying down the rules governing the arbitration procedure in staff matters under Article 14 of the Staff Regulations. Available at: https://www.energy-community.org/dam/jcr:9266a58e-0698-4029-966c-b14d93a7e8de/PA_01_2020_PHLG-EnC.pdf (10.10.2023).
Regulation No 31 (EEC), 11 (EAEC), laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community, Consolidated Text, - EU Staff Regulations. Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/1962/31(1)/2023-01-01 (15.01.2024).
Staff Regulations and Staff Rules including provisional Staff Rules of the United Nations, SG Bulletin, ST/SGB/2023/1.
Staff Regulations and Staff Rules of the Council of Europe. Available at: https://publicsearch.coe.int/Pages/result_details.aspx?ObjectID=0900001680782c27#_ftn1 (13.01.2024).
Staff Regulations of the Energy Community. Available at: https://www.energy-community.org/dam/jcr:cc5c53fa-2e7e-4e01-a562-db5eb812c07c/Staff_regulations.pdf (15.10.2023).
Staff Regulations of the Regional School of Public Administration. Available at: https://www.respaweb.eu/download/doc/Consolidated+Staff+Regulations_July+2020.pdf/302630dd2004a92eb522bf1e8a661e50.pdf
Staff Regulations of the Transport Community. Available at: https://www.transport-community.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/STAFF-REGULATIONS-OF-THE-TRANSPORT-COMMUNITY_October-2023.pdf (30.10.2023).
Staff Regulations of the United Nations. Available at: https://policy.un.org/browse-by-source/staff-regulations#Regulation%201.1 (30.10.2023).
Statute of the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organisation. Available at: https://www.ilo.org/tribunal/about-us/WCMS_249194/lang--en/index.htm#art2 (10.10.2023).
Statute of the Council of Europe, European Treaty Series - No. 1,
Treaty Establishing the Transport Community, Official Journal of the EU, L 278/3, 27.10.2017.
UNESCO. 2021. Staff Regulations and Staff Rules. Available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/in/documentViewer.xhtml?v=2.1.196&id=p::usmarcdef_0000375491&file=/in/rest/annotationSVC/DownloadWatermarkedAttachment/attach_import_d20c31fc-0c9f-4b10-b81d-c4e3502ea627%3F_%3D375491eng.pdf&locale=en&multi=true&ark=/ark:/48223/pf0000375491/PDF/375491eng.pdf#%5B%7B%22num%22%3A87%2C%22gen%22%3A0%7D%2C%7B%22name%22%3A%22XYZ%22%7D%2C0%2C605%2Cnull%5D (15.01.2024).
|021MC-EnC: Ministerial Council Decision of 17 November 2006 on adoption of Rules for Recruitment, Working Conditions and Geographical Equilibrium of the Secretariat's Staff of the Energy Community. Available at: https://www.energy-community.org/legal/procedural-acts.html (10.10.2023).
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Duško Z. Glodić, PhD

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

