The Legal Adviser in International Organizations: Technician or Guardian?

Authors

  • Treasa Dunworth

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29173/alr447

Abstract

The participation of lawyers as legal advisers to international organizations is reviewed from a historical and political perspective, looking primarily at the United Nations and the League of Nations. An inquiry is made into the “accountability debate” of international organizations and the role that legal advisers play in this regard. The issue of whether lawyers act as technicians or guardians in the international arena is reviewed historically both through academic publications, and through the writings of lawyers who have acted as international legal advisers. The 2003 invasion of Iraq and subsequent treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib are analyzed with respect to the advice given to states by their international legal advisers.

Author Biography

Treasa Dunworth

Senior Lecturer, University of Auckland.

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Issue

Vol 46, No 4: Special Issue: International Law and Democratic Considerations

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Articles

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