Alex Haines and Victoria Brown instructed to appear at the World Bank Administrative Tribunal in Washington DC

Two members of Outer Temple’s International Organisations Law Team instructed in cases before the World Bank Administrative Tribunal in Washington DC.

Alex Haines and Victoria Brown have been instructed in two cases before the World Bank Group’s Administrative Tribunal (WBAT).

The WBAT was established by the Board of Governors of the Bank in 1980. It acts as a judicial forum of last resort for the resolution of cases submitted by World Bank Group staff members alleging non-observance of their contracts of employment or terms of appointment. The WBAT’s decisions are final and binding on the Bank.

The WBAT is composed of seven judges, all of whom are nationals of difference Bank Member States. The WBAT is governed by its Statute and follows its own Rules of Procedure, most recently amended on 25^th October 2019. All the WBAT’s judgments and orders are published on its website. The current WBAT President is from Barbados, and the others judges are from Iran, France, USA, Liberia, Canada and Ireland.

Almost all International Organisations are subject to the jurisdiction of an international administrative tribunal (IATs) 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 WBAT, 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, is the most prominent IAT.

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 30 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.

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 Dispute Tribunal (New York)
• United Nations Appeals 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)
• 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.

Victoria Brown is a civil and commercial practitioner with a particular focus on commercial and financial services disputes.

You can find out more about our International Organisations practice on our expertise page.

News 3 Dec, 2020