Mter an international organization is established, if it is necessary for it to acquire certain rights or assume duties or new functions not provided in its constitution, there are four techniques to achieve that 1 end. The first is to amend the constitution of the organization. If the organization has only a limited number of members, then this technique is not too cumbersome. But, the procedure for amending a constitution is usually complicated and requires a substantial period of time. Thus this technique has at least the disadvantage of delay. 2 The second technique is to conclude a treaty among the member States of the organization. The organization is not a party to that treaty, but it can acquire some rights, assume some duties, or new functions under the treaty. 3 The disadvantage of this technique is similar to the first one, i. e. , the conclusion of a multilateral treaty may mean delay since the procedure involved is so complicated and cumber some. 1 E. g. , the Constitution of the ILO, Cmd. No. 393 (T. S. No. 4 of 1919), [1919] 13 Foreign ReI. U. S. : Paris Conf. 695 (1947), was amended on October 9, 1946,62 Stat. 3485, T. I. A. S. No. 1868, 15 U. N. T. S.

Papers prepared as a result of research conducted at the 1969 session of the Center for Studies and Research, Hague Academy of International Law.

Provides a framework for understanding how organizations are set up and the logic behind international organizations law.

In December 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the International Law Commission's articles on the responsibility of international organizations, bringing to conclusion not only nearly ten years of reflection by the Commission, governments and organizations on this specific topic, but also decades of study of the wider subject of international responsibility, which had initially focused on State responsibility. Parallel to this reflection by the Commission, diplomats and public officials, the body of international case-law and literature on the many facets of the topic has steadily been growing. Responsibility of International Organizations: Essays in Memory of Sir Ian Brownlie contributes to the body of international literature by collecting a broad spectrum of different and sometimes differing perspectives from well-known experts in the field, ranging from the bench to the Commission, academia, and the world of in-house counsel. The book is also a memorial to the renowned Sir Ian Brownlie, himself a former Chairman of the International Law Commission who, as a leading scholar and practitioner, greatly contributed to the reflection on international responsibility, including the responsibility of international organizations. Edited by Maurizio Ragazzi, a former pupil of Sir Ian, the book is an ideal companion to International Responsibility Today, a collection of essays on international responsibility which the same editor presented in 2005 in memory of Oscar Schachter, and to which Sir Ian Brownlie had contributed. The essays collected in Responsibility of International Organizations: Essays in Memory of Sir Ian Brownlie, conveniently grouped by the editor under broad areas for the reader's benefit, will be relevant not only to all those interested in this specific subject but also, more generally, to all those engaged in the field of international law and the law of international organizations.