The world is getting smaller and increasingly interdependent every day.
As a result, national and regional developments are, as a matter of necessity, seen in a global framework.
States want to preserve their independence but they are confronted with a growing list of problems, which they can only solve in co-operation with others.
The sheer scale of the issues at stake calls for an institutional framework to give that co-operation a more permanent structure. Hence, decisions taken at the national level and results of intergovernmental co-operation have become closely intertwined.
It is therefore appropriate in the framework of the International Encyclopaedia of Laws to make accessible comprehensive, substantial and readily available information on the most important Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs), given their importance for the development of international law and intergovernmental co-operation in general.
The fundamental changes taking place nowadays at an incredible pace within IGOs render it all the more necessary to put this information within easy reach.
Some 55 leading organizations will be described in separate monographs of approximately 150 pages each. Among the organizations on which a monograph has been or will be written are the following global and regional organizations: African Development Bank. Andean Common Market. Asian Development Bank. Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Benelux Economic Union. Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Commonwealth Secretariat (ComSec). Council of Europe (CE). Customs Co-operation Council (CCC). Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
European Patent Office (EPO). European Union (EU). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Gulf Cooperation Council. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). International Development Association (IDA). International Energy Agency (IEA). International Finance Corporation (IFC). International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
International Maritime Organization (IMO). International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). League of Arab States (LAS). Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA). North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Organization of African Unity (OAU). Organization of American States (OAS). Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The Nordic Council. The United Nations (UN). Universal Postal Union (UPU). Western European Union (WEU). World Bank. World Health Organization (WHO). World Meteorological Organization (WMO). World Tourism Organization. World Trade Organization (WTO/GATT). Each monograph follows the outline below: 1. Genesis and historical development. 2. Institutional framework: A. Membership. B. Organs. C. Activities. 3. Competence. 4. Finance. 5. Data and publications. 6. Network-address-relations with other organizations. Short Bibliography. Subject Index.
