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Non-State Actors in International Law

 

Welcome to the website of Non-State Actors in International Law

Non-State Actors in International Law is a five-year joint research project funded by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen). A number of (mainly legal) scholars with a policy-oriented mind meet annually (2009-2013) to study the role, position and influence of non-State actors in international law and policy. The aim of the project is to ascertain whether there is a mismatch between the increased assertiveness of non-State actors in transnational/international relations and the current State-centred structure of international law-making, -implementation, and –enforcement, and whether this mismatch should somehow be remedied. The joint research should result in a number of edited volumes, reports, and joint publications.            

Dr. Cedric Ryngaert (Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies)
Prof. Dr. Jan Wouters (Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies)

Project

States are traditionally considered to be the sole subjects of international law. In the real world, however, non-State actors, such as multinational corporations, insurgent or terrorist groups, or leading charitable or issue-oriented organizations (NGOs), have sometimes become more influential and powerful than States. In spite of this evolution, these actors remain largely outside the field of international law. They have no or very few, formal rights of participation, and they are generally not considered to be internationally accountable for their actions. Under the current system, non-State actors depend on States to defend their interests, and they are only accountable for their transgressions at the level of the State. The system does not seem to contemplate the situation where non-State actors may have their own interests that can hardly be defended by States and that in many parts of the world the power of the State is weak or even non-existent.

This project aims to identify the mismatch between the international legal system and the increased assertiveness of non-State actors in transnational/international relations. Using an interdisciplinary approach, it examines the desirability of enhanced legal personality for non-State actors at the international level (in terms of more rights accruing to and duties imposed on non-State actors). It aims to construct an international legal system that accommodates the interests of all international actors, i.e. a system that reflects the underlying social dynamics in the international community.

The following deliverables are planned. By early June 2010, the project aims to deliver a preliminary report, which will give an overview of the state of the art of the role of non-State actors in international law. The members of the project will contribute to this report. The report will be disseminated within the academic world and outside it, in particular in policy circles. By 2010/2011, the project also intends to publish an (English-language) edited volume on the position of non-State actors, to which the members of the group and possible external contributers will contribute. Subsequently, the project will continue its research, and hopes to deliver a thorough and ‘final’ report on the position of non-State actors. This report will also address a number of policy issues (relating to the necessity and desirability of a role for non-State actors in international law-making and –implementation). After 2012, the project aims for the publication of another (edited) volume (horizon 2013). This volume will identify the general principles that are applicable to the different functional domains of international law and policy, and will critically assess the role and influence of non-State actors. It will contrast the position of non-State actors in shaping global governance with the role of the states (and international organizations) as classic policy-makers.

Events

  • ILA NSA Committee Meeting on ‘Non-State Actors in International Law’