Duke University Law Library: Collection Development Policy:International Legal Materials
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS COLLECTING LEVELS
International governmental organizations (sometimes called intergovernmental associations or IGOs) are associations of states established by a treaty to pursue the common aims of their member
states. IGOs have their own organs to carry out functions within the organization and to achieve their aims. An IGO often comprises an executive body that administers the organization , a plenary
organ and a non-plenary organ. It may also include a tribunal to settle disputes among its members and various specialized agencies (e.g. the United Nations). An organization with chiefly economic
aims may be modeled after a commercial company (e.g. the Bank for International Settlements). See Rudolf L. Bindschedler, International Organizations, General Aspects in 2 Encyclopedia of Public
International Law 1289-1309 ( Rudolf Bernhardt, ed. 1995) for a detailed discussion the legal basis, structure and function of IGOs.
Types of primary legal materials from IGOs include treaties, charters, legal acts (e.g. decisions, resolutions, directives, etc.), decisions of tribunals, etc. Many IGOs also publish secondary
materials such as yearbooks and annual reports, technical reports, monographs, periodicals, press releases, and documents of adhoc bodies.
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