Alex Haines and Victoria Brown instructed before the newly established Islamic Development Bank Administrative Tribunal

Two members of Outer Temple’s International Organisations Law have been instructed in the first set of cases before the Islamic Development Bank Administrative Tribunal (IsDBAT) which is based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Alex Haines and Victoria Brown have been instructed in a case before the IsDBAT in a case involving an allegation of unlawful termination of employment.

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) is a Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) whose mission includes the promotion of social and economic development in Member States and Muslim communities worldwide. The present membership of the IsDB consists of 57 countries, with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia funding almost a quarter of its total capital.  

The IsDBAT is a judicial body that functions independently of the IsDB; its independence is guaranteed in its Statute and Rules of Procedure adopted in June 2020 and February 2022 respectively.  The IsDBAT is composed of five members, all of whom are nationals of IsDB member countries.

Almost all International Organisations are subject to the jurisdiction of an international administrative tribunal (IAT) regarding their institutional matters. IATs generally exist in the realm of the public international law system. Most international organisations have provided for some sort of internal justice mechanism to address institutional disputes resulting in dozens of IATs, including the three most established: the World Bank Administrative Tribunal, the United Nations’ two tier system: the UN Dispute Tribunal and the UN Appeals Tribunal; and the International Labour Organisation Administrative Tribunal (ILOAT) in Geneva. In the EU, the General Court is the equivalent IAT for disputes arising out of administrative decisions taken by European Institutions. On the African continent, the African Development Bank Administrative Tribunal in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and the African Union’s Administrative Tribunal in Addis Ababa are the most prominent IATs. 

Outer Temple’s International Organisations Law barristers have unrivalled experience in the laws, systems and frameworks of international organisations, having been instructed in cases involving more than 35 international institutions worldwide. Such organisations enjoy a number of privileges and immunities and, as a result, have created internal justice systems that are not bound by domestic jurisdictions.

Most international organisations are created by multilateral treaties concluded between sovereign states and they are, therefore, products of public international law. All cases relating to international organisations require expert lawyers with an understanding of the complex workings of each institution, whether they deal with corruption, regulation, employment rights, whistleblowing or policy making in the context of advocacy, litigation, investigations and advisory work.

International Organisations law

Members of the OTC International Organisations Law Team have been instructed before the following international tribunals and bodies:

• World Bank Administrative Tribunal (Washington DC)
• United Nations Appeals Tribunal (New York)
• United Nations Dispute Tribunal (New York)
• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Administrative Tribunal (London)
• International Labour Organisation Administrative Tribunal (Geneva)
• Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal (London)
• Inter-American Development Bank Administrative Tribunal (Washington DC)
• Black Sea Trade and Development Bank Administrative Tribunal (Thessaloniki)
• Asian Development Bank Administrative Tribunal (Manila)
• General Court of the European Union (Luxembourg)
• African Union Administrative Tribunal (Addis Ababa)
• Islamic Development Bank Administrative Tribunal (Jeddah)
• Pan American Health Organisation Board of Appeal (Washington DC)
• European Investment Bank Appeals Panel (Luxembourg)
• International Maritime Organisation Staff Appeals Board (London)

Find out more

Alex Haines is a specialist in international law, with particular expertise in the extensive field of international organisations law. He was appointed as a Sanctions Officer at the Caribbean Development Bank in 2020 and is on the AG’s London B Panel of Counsel to the Crown since 2019. He is admitted to both the New York and Irish Bars in addition to the Bar of England and Wales.

Victoria Brown specialises in pensions and employment, frequently with an international law angle. She regularly appears before IATs and is on the Attorney General’s C Panel.

You can find out more about our International Organisations practice on our expertise page or contact Sam Carter on +44 (0)203 989 6669 or Colin Bunyan on +44 (0)20 7427 4886 for a confidential discussion.

News, International 14 Mar, 2022