INTERNATIONAL LEGAL PERSONALITY OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: OPEC CASE

National legal personality is a matter of domestic law while international legal personality is an immemorial but significant subject of international law. It is generally accepted that an international organization with legal personality can represent its members, and achieve its aims more efficiently than those without having legal personality. There are a few theories about the way of acquisition of international legal personality. These main theories about international legal personality such as, subjective, presumptive and objective legal personality theories should be born in mind to better understand the legal status of international organizations.Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is one of the leading international organizations functioning in petroleum sector with 13 oil rich member countries. The international legal personality of OPEC has been a long discussed yet still contradictive subject in international law. Therefore international legal personality of OPEC was chosen as the subheading, and it is defined according to the legal personality theories to better understand the power and legal status of OPEC which takes vital decisions for the world oil market. It is also presumed that the juridical personality of an entity should indicate legal personality of this entity, OPEC is also examined by its status before courts.

___

  • Amerasinghe, C. F. (1994). “Legal Rights and Capacity’’. A Handbook on International Organizations. Ed. Rene Jean Dupuy. Cambridge: Academie De Droit International. 349-365.
  • Amerasainghe, C.F. (1996). Principles of the Institutional Law of International Organizations.Cambridge Univ. Press. Amuzegar, Jahangir (1973). The Oil Story: Facts. Fiction and Fair Play. 51 Foreign Aff.
  • Archer, Clive (2014), International Organizations. Kentucky: Routledge Press Asante, Samuel (1988). "International law and foreign investment: a reappraisal”. International and Comparative Law Quarterly. Issue: 03 (37): 558-628
  • Bardos, Richard (1981). “Judicial Abstention Through the Act of StateDoctrine. International Association of Machinists v.Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries”. (http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1186&context=mjil, Accessed 17 September, 2015)
  • Başlar, Kemal. ‘’Uluslararası Kuruluşlar ve Uluslararası Hukuk Kişiliği’’. Uluslararası Hukuk ve Politika. Issue: 30 (8), 2012.
  • Bolesaw, A. Boczek (2005). International Law. Lanham: Scarecrow Press.
  • Bozkurt, Enver and Kütükçü, M. Akif and Poyraz, Yasin (2003). Devletler Hukuku,. Ankara: Nobel Yayınları.
  • Brownlie, Ian (2003). Principles of Public Internatonal Law. New York: OUP Publising.
  • Cassese, Antonio (1994) International Law in a Divided World. USA: Oxford University Press.
  • Commission Decision of 19 December 1984, 85/206/EEC, Official Journal L 092, 30/03/1985 P. 0001 – 0076.
  • Desta, Melaku Geboye (2003). “The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the World Trade Organization, and Regional Trade Agreements”, Journal of World Trade. Issue:3 (37): 523-551.
  • Foreign States Immunities Act (FSIA) Pub. L. No. 94-583, 90 Stat. 2891 (1976).
  • Frieden, Jeffry A. and Rogowski, Ronald (1996). "The Impact of the International Economy on National Policies: An Analytical Overview", Internationalization and Domestic Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 25-47
  • Gabor, Rona (2002). ‘’The ICRC Privilege not to Testify: Confidentiality in Action’’. The International Review of the Red Cross. Issue: 845: 207-219.
  • Gaja, Giorgio, “First Report on Responsibility of International Organizations”, UN Doc A/CN. 4/532. Accessed 26 March, 2003.
  • Gudbrandsen, Susanne Juell. "Legal Personality of International Organisations:-in relation to members and non-members." (2003).
  • International Association of Machinists v. OPEC, 649 F. 2D 1354, 9th Cir, 1981.
  • International Tin Council, Petitioner, v. Amalgamet Inc 645 F.Supp. 879, 1986.
  • (http://www.leagle.com/decision/19861524645FSupp879_11356.xml/INTERNATIONAL%20TIN%20COUNCIL%20v.%20AMALGAMET%20INC, Accessed 17 September, 2015).
  • Klabbers, Jan (2003). An Introduction to International Institutional Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Klabbers, Jan (1998) “Presumptive Personality: The European Union in International Law”, International Law Aspect of the European Union. Ed. Koskenniemi, Martti. London: 231-255.
  • Lashbrooke, Jr, E. C. (1982). "Suits against International Organizations in Federal Court: OPEC, a Case Study." California Western International Law Journal. Volume 12: 30-324
  • Laurence, Stoehr (1979-1980). “OPEC as a Legal Entity”, Fordham International Law Forum, Volume: 3(91): 91-105.
  • Muller, Sam (1995) International Organizations and Their Host States: Aspects of Their Legal Relationship. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. Pazarcı, Hüseyin (1993) Uluslararası Hukuk Dersleri, II. Kitap. Ankara: Turhan Kitabevi.
  • Portmann, Roland (2010). Legal Personality in International Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Quadri, Rolando (1964). '’Cours Generale de Droit International Public’', Receuil des Cours de l'Academie de Droit lnternational, Paris: Recueil Srey. Volume 113: 236-483.
  • Raluca, David. “The European Union and its Legal Personality (1993-2010)” (http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1566492, Accessed 17 September, 2015).
  • Reçber, Kamuran (2002). ‘’Batı Avrupa Birliği’nin Uluslararası Hukuk Kişiliği’’, Ankara Üniversitesi SBF Dergisi, Issue: 1(57): 89-110. Schermers, H.G. and Blokker, N. M (2003). International Institutional Law. Boston: Martinus Nijhoff Press.
  • Schoutheete, Philippe de and Andoura, Sami (2007). ‘’The Legal Personality of the European Union’’. Studia Diplomatica. Issue: 1 (60): 1-9
  • Seyersted, Finn (1982). ‘’The Legal Nature of International Organizations”. Nordisk Tidsskrift for International Ret. Issue 1(51): 203-205.
  • Terhechte, Jorg Philipp (2010). “Applying European Competition Law to International Organizations: The Case of OPEC”, European Yearbook of International Economic Law, Issue (1):179-203.
  • Underhill v. Hernandez, U.S. Supreme Court, Final Appeal, 168 U.S. 250 (1897), can be found at: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/168/250/case.html, Accessed 17 September, 2015) Voitovich, Sergei A (1995). International Economic Organizations in the International Legal Process Legal Aspects of International Organization. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
  • Waller, Weber Spencer (2002). “Suing OPEC”. (http://www.luc.edu/media/lucedu/law/centers/antitrust/pdfs/publications/workingpapers/opec.pdf, Accessed 17 September, 2015).
  • White, Nigel D (2005). The Law of International Organisations. Manchester: Manchester University Press. http://agreement.asean.org/, Accessed 17 September, 2015.
  • http://www.opec.org/opec_web/static_files_project/media/downloads/publications/OPEC_Statute.pdf, Accessed 17 September, 2015.
  • http://www.tanap.com/kurumsal/anlasmalarimiz/, Accessed 17 September, 2015.