Introduction

Most international organizations possess a variety of organs, set up to perform various distinct functions and, perhaps, also to keep each other in check. Within the EC, the idea of the institutional balance as a principle behind the distribution of powers has gained some prominence, and has traditionally been honoured by the EC Court. And with respect to the UN, as Martti Koskenniemi has noted, something similar may be seen:

In much the same way as state organs constitute the machinery of states, performing tasks in the name of the state, so too do the organs of international organizations perform tasks in the name of the organization. Usually they lack a separate legal personality, which indicates that they are not to be considered as actors in their own right.