ASIL: Reports on International Organizations

The newest electronic resource from the American Society of International Law is Reports on International Organizations, a publication of the Society's International Organizations Interest Group. Here's the idea:

These biannual reports are intended to highlight the work of IOs - both regional and subject-specific - whose actions are not well-known to international lawyers. Many electronic resources now exist giving updates on legal developments at organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union, and the World Trade Organization. Few, if any report on the work of the Commonwealth, INTERPOL, the Southern African Development Community, the United Nations Environment Program, and Pacific Islands Forum, to name just a few of the organizations we report on in this first edition.

We believe information on these under-reported organizations will assist international lawyers in two ways. First, the reports will make plain the enormous breadth of issues now addressed by international organizations. Second, the reports attempt to highlight legal questions that cut across the work of many IOs and will thus be of interest to those who study this area of law, though not the particular organization involved.

RIO is modeled on the Recent Developments section of the American Journal of International Law. The first section summarizes important legal developments in each IO. The second section analyzes their significance. The context given in this second section is intended to help readers who may not be familiar with the organization. But it is also where reporters will make links to broader issues of international law and compare the reported developments with similar developments in other IOs.