International Development Law Organization

Governance

IDLO is an intergovernmental organization composed of 38 Member Parties. IDLO was granted observer status at the United Nations General Assembly in 2002. IDLO is governed by the Assembly of Parties, a Standing Committee and an Audit and Finance Committee.

THE ASSEMBLY OF PARTIES, composed of representatives of all IDLO’s Member Parties, is IDLO’s highest decision-making body. It normally convenes in Rome once a year, in the last quarter of the year. The role of the Assembly is to determine the Organization’s policies and guide the work of the Director-General. Its duties include the adoption of the budget and the accompanying management plan; the adoption of by-laws for the governance of the Organization; the approval of the admission of new members of the Organization; and the election of the Director-General, members of the Standing Committee, members of the Audit and Finance Committee, and the members of the Board of Advisers.

THE STANDING COMMITTEE reports to the Assembly of Parties and provides appropriate oversight of the Organization on behalf of the Member Parties between sessions of the Assembly. It is comprised of the President of the Assembly, who shall be its Chair; the Assembly’s two Vice-Presidents; and one representative from each of four Parties who are elected by the Assembly in alternate years, each for a two-year term. The Standing Committee is in charge of monitoring the proper implementation of the budget, management plan, strategic plan, and other decisions of the Assembly; review and approval of the external audit reports and financial statements of the Organization; and preparing reports and recommendations for the Assembly.

THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE was established by the Assembly of Parties to assist the Assembly, through the Standing Committee, in its oversight responsibilities with respect to audit and compliance, the implementation of financial reporting and maintenance of effective and efficient financial performance. It is composed of five to seven members chosen from among members of the Assembly of Parties for a two-year term. The Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee is appointed by the Assembly of Parties from among the members of the Committee and a Vice-Chair is chosen by the members of the Committee at its first meeting during each calendar year.

A BOARD OF ADVISERS provides expert advice to the Assembly of Parties, the Standing Committee, and the Director-General. It includes between six and ten individuals elected by the Assembly for a four-year term. All Board Members are selected based on their expertise and backgrounds in various disciplines that have an impact on the rule of law and development. They serve in their personal capacities and not as representatives of their governments or organizations. Meetings of the Board of Advisers are convened at least once a year, prior to the regular meeting of the Assembly.

The current members of the Board of Advisers are:

  • Mr. Stefano Manservisi, Chair. Special Advisor to European Union Commissioner for Economy and Chair of the Governing Board of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), Brussels, Belgium
  • Dr. Ruth Aura-Odhiambo, Jurist, Senior Lecturer and Dean of the Faculty of Law, Egerton University, Nakuru, Kenya
  • Mr. Ahmar Bilal Soofi, Legal expert, member of the Panel of Eminent Persons of OIC, Senior Managing Partner, law firm Ahmar Bilal Soofi & Co., Lahore, Pakistan
  • Mr. Diego García-Sayán, Jurist, former UN Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges & Lawyers, former Judge of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Lima, Peru
  • H.E. Mehmet Hasan Göğüş, Ambassador, former Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey
  • Dr. Hoang Ly Anh, Acting Head of Department for Research Management and Journal Administration, Hanoi Law University, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • Prof. Githu Muigai, Jurist, Professor of Law and Practitioner in Public International Law, University of Nairobi, Kenya
  • Ms. Zhou Xiaoyan, Senior Consultant of China Council for International Investment Promotion and Research Fellow, Qsinghua University, Beijing, China
Statutes

IDLO was established as an intergovernmental organization in 1988 by an international treaty – the Agreement for the Establishment of the International Development Law Organization (“Establishment Agreement”). The full text of the Establishment Agreement is available here:  English  |  French  |  Spanish

IDLO’s Governing Bodies and the Board of Advisers have their own by-laws, which are approved by the Assembly of Parties. The full texts of the Rules of Procedure are available here:  English  |  French  |  Spanish

On 1 October 2019, a new Headquarters Agreement between the Government of Italy and IDLO came into force: the full text is available hereArticle VIII of the Establishment Agreement calls on all Member States to grant IDLO rights, privileges, and immunities comparable to those provided by Italy in the Headquarters Agreement in support of IDLO’s activities in their territory.