The Tension between the Jurisdictional Immunity of International Organizations and the Right of Access to Court

The major controversy about immunity from legal process possessed by many international organizations is that without access to court or adequate alternative recourse there may be a denial of justice. Even where a recourse to an alternative dispute resolution mechanism is available, there is still the issue whether that mechanism meets the requisite standards of impartiality and independence for the determination of a legal claim. This chapter addresses the nature, sources and purpose of the immunity from legal process of international organizations, and then discusses how national courts and international courts and tribunals, especially the European Court of Human Rights, have dealt with the interplay between these competing or conflicting principles of jurisdictional immunity and access to court. Most importantly, it addresses whether the jurisdictional immunity of international organizations is conditional on the availability of an alternative dispute resolution mechanism. It also discusses the adequacy of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms; in particular, whether the proceedings of international administrative tribunals meet the standards of such instruments as Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights. It concludes with an exploration of whether the international law principle of jurisdictional immunity of international organizations could be reconciled with the human rights principle of access to court or tribunal.