Tug of War? A Jurisdictional Analysis of WHO and Interpol

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) is the premier global organization to monitor and protect global health, while the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) functions as an international nucleus for assistance in crime prevention and detection. In the event of a deliberate act of bioterrorism, the inevitable question is whether or not a jurisdictional “tug of war” would occur between WHO and Interpol. The following paper addresses the power, initiatives, and protocol regarding bioterrorism of both Interpol and WHO, recent collaborations between the two organizations, and a jurisdictional analysis of what may occur when the two organization work together in the aftermath of an act of bioterrorism.