Download: Brill.Com/Brill-Typeface

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Download: Brill.Com/Brill-Typeface The Role of International Administrative Law at International Organizations <UN> aiib Yearbook of International Law General Editor Gerard J. Sanders volume 3 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/aiib <UN> The Role of International Administrative Law at International Organizations Edited by Peter Quayle leiden | boston <UN> This is an open access title distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC 4.0 License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. This publication is a product of collaboration between staff of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and external contributors. Information contained in this publication does not necessarily reflect the views of AIIB, its governance organs or its member governments. AIIB does not guarantee the accuracy of the information included in this publication. Nothing herein shall constitute or be construed as a limitation upon, or waiver of, the privileges and immunities of AIIB. Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface. ISSN 2590-2822 ISBN 978-90-04-42030-4 (hardback) ISBN 978-90-04-44103-3 (e-book) Copyright 2021 by Peter Quayle. Published by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi, Brill Sense, Hotei Publishing, mentis Verlag, Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh and Wilhelm Fink Verlag. Koninklijke Brill NV reserves the right to protect this publication against unauthorized use. This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner. <UN> Contents 1 The Modern Multilateral Bureaucracy: What is the Role of International Administrative Law at International Organizations? 1 Peter Quayle Part 1 The Legal Premise of International Administrative Law 2 The Tension between the Jurisdictional Immunity of International Organizations and the Right of Access to Court 25 Edward Chukwuemeke Okeke 3 Breaking the Silence: Why International Organizations Should Acknowledge Customary International Law Obligations to Provide Effective Remedies 54 Kristina Daugirdas and Sachi Schuricht 4 What is ‘International Administrative Law’? The Adequacy of this Term in Various Judgments of International Administrative Tribunals 88 Shinichi Ago 5 The Terms and Conditions of Employment of International Civil Servants: Implied Terms Recognized by the Asian Development Bank Administrative Tribunal 103 Damien J. Eastman Part 2 Resolving Employment-Related Disputes at International Organizations 6 To Join or Not to Join: A Comparative Analysis of Joining or Creating an International Administrative Tribunal 119 Katherine Meighan and Gabriel Rodríguez-Rico 7 Arbitrating Employment Disputes Involving International Organizations 141 Rishi Gulati and Thomas John <UN> vi Contents 8 The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria: The Journey of a Public-Private Partnership 158 Fady Zeidan and Jean Abboud 9 Evolution of the Grievance System of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development: Lessons Learnt and Way Forward 172 Nobert Seiler Part 3 The Role and Reform of International Administrative Tribunals 10 The Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal: The Evolution and Explanation of Changes to the Tribunal’s Statute 191 Alice Lacourt 11 The Effectiveness of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in an Era of Adaptation: The Role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Administrative Tribunal 213 Steven Hill and Nick Minogue 12 Building an Administrative Tribunal of an International Financial Institution from Scratch: Lessons from the European Stability Mechanism 225 David Eatough Part 4 International Administrative Law and the Effectiveness and Integrity of International Organizations 13 The Manager’s Duty to Resolve or Report Misconduct: The Example of the International Monetary Fund’s Retaliation Policy 241 Brian Patterson, Pheabe Morris and Brenda Costecalde Orpineda 14 Procedural Requirements in Staff Misconduct Cases: The Evolving Approach of the African Development Bank Administrative Tribunal 262 Eric P. LeBlanc <UN> Contents vii 15 Macro-Trends in the Performance Management of International Civil Servants and Their Legal Implications 275 Laurent Germond and Estelle Martin Appendices 16 2019 AIIB Law Lecture: The Rise of Sustainable Development in International Investment Law 297 Nico Schrijver 17 2019 AIIB Legal Conference Report 315 Yongqing Liu and Graciela Base <UN> <UN> Chapter 1 The Modern Multilateral Bureaucracy: What is the Role of International Administrative Law at International Organizations? Peter Quayle* Abstract What is the role of ‘international administrative law’—the law of employment relations—at international organizations? This chapter begins by contrasting the in- ternational legal status of States on the one hand, and international organizations on the other, before noting that the bureaucracies of the latter are heir to the traditions and identity of the former. It is then argued that transposing modern bureaucracy— ideally, meritocratic and impersonal national civil services—to multilateral adminis- tration, replaces the ‘patrimonial’ pressures on modern States with the related risks of ‘State sociability’ and co-option of international organizations. We then review the several legal bases of international administrative tribunals to discern whether inter- national administrative law takes into account this strain. This chapter draws the con- clusion that international administrative law is inherent to the assumption by multi- lateral administration of the ideals of modern bureaucracy— impartial, efficient and energetic—and so synonymous with the independent existence of international organizations. 1 Introduction The functionalist paradigm that underpins the law of international organizations1—namely, that intergovernmental institutions are attributed * Peter Quayle, Chief Counsel, Corporate at Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Visiting Professor of International Organizations Law at Peking University Law School, pe- [email protected]. The contents of this chapter reflect the personal opinion of the indi- vidual author and are not the views of AIIB. The author is grateful to Yifeng Chen and Christian Parreno for their comments on an earlier draft. 1 See, for example, ilc, ‘Draft Articles on Responsibility of International Organizations’ 2011, art 2(a), “‘international organization’ means an organization established by a treaty or other instrument governed by international law and possessing its own international legal © Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), ���1 | doi:10.1163/9789004441033_00� This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the cc-by-nc 4.0 License. 2 Quayle functions by their member States together with all necessary powers to fulfil such functions—lends itself to a dynamism (or malleability, if you prefer) con- cerning the competences and controls of these powerful and pervasive inter- national actors.2 Tellingly, the limits of the powers of an international organi- zation were most emphatically encountered by the International Court of Justice (icj) when ruling what an intergovernmental institution was not: it was not a State, “still less […] a ‘super-State’, whatever that expression may mean”.3 Whilst in Reparation for Injuries (1949), the icj determined that an interna- tional organization is possessed of an international legal personality, governed by international law, “That is not the same thing as saying that it is a State, which it certainly is not, or that its legal personality and rights and duties are the same as those of a State”.4 The limitation this imposes is underlined by the icj in a later advisory opinion, Legality of Nuclear Weapons (1996): The Court need hardly point out that international organizations are subjects of international law which do not, unlike States, possess a gen- eral competence. International organizations are governed by the ‘princi- ple of speciality’, that is to say, they are invested by the States which cre- ate them with powers, the limits of which are a function of the common interests whose promotion those States entrust to them.5 Yet, although international law distinguishes between the competences of States and the international organizations they create, they share an institu- tional identity. The official bureaucracies of States—their national civil service—are the antecedents of the multilateral secretariats of intergovern- mental institutions—the international civil service. Therefore, following this introduction, in attempting to answer the question, ‘What is the role of inter- national administrative law at international organizations?’, this chapter will begin by considering the ideals of modern bureaucracy—of a national civil service (Section 2); before contemplating how transposition of these ideals to personality”; this chapter uses the terms ‘international organization’ and ‘intergovernmental institution’ interchangeably. 2 See, generally, Klabbers 2015, 9 (“Few people would dispute the relevance of international organizations as part of our [normative universe], and yet our understanding of these crea- tures is very limited”). 3 icj, Reparations for Injuries, 9. 4 Ibid. 5 icj, Legality of Nuclear Weapons, para 25. <UN> The Modern Multilateral Bureaucracy 3 multilateral administration is accompanied by the sustained strain of State in- terference
Recommended publications
  • Subaltern Geopolitics and the Post-Colonial Commonwealth, 1965-1990
    King’s Research Portal DOI: 10.1016/j.polgeo.2018.04.003 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication record in King's Research Portal Citation for published version (APA): Craggs, R. (2018). Subaltern geopolitics and the post-colonial Commonwealth, 1965-1990. POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY , 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2018.04.003 Citing this paper Please note that where the full-text provided on King's Research Portal is the Author Accepted Manuscript or Post-Print version this may differ from the final Published version. If citing, it is advised that you check and use the publisher's definitive version for pagination, volume/issue, and date of publication details. And where the final published version is provided on the Research Portal, if citing you are again advised to check the publisher's website for any subsequent corrections. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the Research Portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognize and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. •Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the Research Portal for the purpose of private study or research. •You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain •You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the Research Portal Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.
    [Show full text]
  • Fast Facts on the Commonwealth Secretary-General
    A briefing for journalists | 4 April 2016 Fast Facts: Commonwealth Secretary-General Founded the Eliminate Domestic Violence Global Mandate and Tenure Foundation in 2011. The Commonwealth Secretary-General promotes and Appointed Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to protects the Commonwealth’s values and principles South Africa in 2012. as reflected in the Commonwealth Charter. The Elected as the Alderman of Bishopsgate in the Secretary-General also represents the Commonwealth City of London in 2014. globally, and manages the Commonwealth Other offices include Chancellor of the Secretariat. University of Greenwich, Patron of the Corporate The Secretary-General maintains regular high-level Alliance Against Domestic Violence, Patron of contacts with Commonwealth governments as well as Lifeline (Trinidad & Tobago) and the Caribbean civil society and other leaders. In addition, he or she Science Foundation. exercises a ‘Good Offices for Peace’ role to work with leaders when political tensions arise in member states. The Secretary-General is selected by consensus by Commonwealth leaders and can serve a maximum of two four-year terms. The post was created together with the Commonwealth Secretariat at the 1965 Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference in London, United Kingdom. Since then there have been six incumbents. Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC became Secretary- General on 1 April 2016 having been appointed by Heads of Government at their meeting in November 2015. Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC – the new Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Janet Scotland was born on the 19th August 1955 in Dominica. Moved to the UK with her family, growing up in east London. Trained as a lawyer and became the first black Secretary-General Rt.
    [Show full text]
  • Institute of Commonwealth Studies
    University of London INSTITUTE OF COMMONWEALTH STUDIES VOICE FILE NAME: COHP David McDowell (Part Two) Key: SO: Dr Sue Onslow (Interviewer) DM: David McDowell (Respondent) Part Two: SO: Dr Sue Onslow talking again to Mr David McDowell in New Zealand on Wednesday, 2nd July 2014. David, thank you very much for agreeing to talk to me again. I wonder if we could pick up, please, towards the end of our previous interview, where you had made reference to Arnold Smith negotiating with Idi Amin on the future of the Ugandan Asians. You pointed out in the notes that you kindly sent me that Arnold Smith didn’t get the recognition he deserved for persuading Amin to let the Ugandan Asians leave the country with their movable possessions – that is, the things they could carry, rather than their capital wealth. At what point did Arnold Smith become involved in the negotiations on the plight of these Ugandan Asians? DM: I haven’t checked precisely which month in 1971 it was, but it must have been about halfway through the year. We were just getting increasingly distressing reports out of Kampala and one or two Commonwealth heads of government asked Arnold – I think Julius Nyerere, yes, was one of them – whether he could use his good offices and go and talk to Idi Amin and try and talk some sense into him. So, Arnold never used to need much encouragement to be active and so we flew into Kampala. As I say, we stayed in State House for nearly a week – four or five nights, four or five days – and met with Idi Amin once, twice, sometimes three times a day.
    [Show full text]
  • Dr Dwayne Ryan Menezes, a Retrospective: Csgs and Human Rights
    Dr Dwayne Ryan Menezes, A Retrospective: CSGs and Human Rights COMMONWEALTH SECRETARIES-GENERAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS: A RETROSPECTIVE Dr Dwayne Ryan Menezes Director, Human Security Centre Director, Polar Research and Policy Initiative Consultant to the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Associate Fellow – Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London “Our shared values of peace, democracy, development, justice and human rights – which are found in our new ‘Commonwealth Charter’ – mean that we place special emphasis on including everyone in this goal, especially those who are vulnerable.” HM Queen Elizabeth II, Commonwealth Day Message 2013 Since its earliest days, the Commonwealth – in its various guises and forms – has been instrumental in directing greater attention and importance to human rights both within and outside itself. Yet, given that much of its work is undertaken behind the scenes, the great force of good it has been in this regard has not always been adequately acknowledged. This essay shall highlight, firstly, the often forgotten role played by the Commonwealth in enshrining fundamental human rights and freedoms both in the Charter of the United Nations (1945) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Then, it shall focus in greater detail on the office of the Secretary-General in particular and explore how each of the five Secretaries- General the Commonwealth has had so far engaged with human rights and security during their time in office. By serving primarily as a compilation of relevant anecdotes, it is hoped that this short essay will elucidate how each Commonwealth Secretary-General responded to the challenges of a changing world with the limited resources they had at their disposal at the evolving Commonwealth Secretariat.
    [Show full text]
  • Commonwealth Headquarters
    The Commonwealth Headquarters in MARLBOROUGH HOUSE Front cover: Nelson Mandela. Pictured here with Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Commonwealth Secretary-General, in Marlborough House gardens. © Commonwealth Secretariat 2019 All rights reserved. This publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or otherwise provided it is used only for educational purposes and is not for resale, and provided full acknowledgement is given to the Commonwealth Secretariat as the original publisher. Views and opinions expressed in this publication are the responsibility of the author and should in no way be attributed to the institutions to which they are affiliated or to the Commonwealth Secretariat. Wherever possible, the Commonwealth Secretariat uses paper sourced from responsible forests or from sources that minimise a destructive impact on the environment. Published by the Commonwealth Secretariat. | 1 Welcome to MARLBOROUGH HOUSE Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland with President Buhari of Nigeria during the Tackling Corruption Together conference, 2016 Throughout its long history, many famous and notable figures have come through the doors of Marlborough House. Within its halls they have exchanged news and views, shared visions and made plans, negotiated and concluded agreements. Still, today, true to its original purpose, Marlborough House is a place of meeting and hospitality, for cultural connection and conversation, for diplomacy and political planning. 2 | | 3 which the Commonwealth is famous. It was at Marlborough House that the Heads of Government of member countries met in 1965 and agreed to create the role of Commonwealth Secretary-General and to establish the Commonwealth Secretariat, which since then has been principal organisation accommodated within the building.
    [Show full text]
  • Commonwealth Initiative for the Freedom of Religion Or Belief
    Commonwealth Initiative for the Freedom of Religion or Belief Timeline of the Commonwealth The history of the Commonwealth goes back to the British Empire. However, the Commonwealth as an organisation was formed in 1949. 1884 – Empire described as a ‘Commonwealth of Nations’ 1926 – The United Kingdom (UK) and its dominions agree they are “equal in status” 1930 – The First Commonwealth Games held in Hamilton, Canada (then called the ‘British Empire Games’) 1931 – Statute of Westminster gives legal status to the independence of Australia, Canada, Irish Free State, Newfoundland, New Zealand and South Africa 1931 – Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa join the Commonwealth 1947 – India and Pakistan join The Commonwealth 1948 – Sri Lanka joins The Commonwealth 1949 – Beginning of the modern Commonwealth: leaders of Commonwealth nations agree that members are “free and equal members of the Commonwealth of Nations, freely co-operating in the pursuit of peace, liberty and progress” 1957 – Ghana and Malaysia join The Commonwealth 1960 – Nigeria joins The Commonwealth 1960 – Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan set up – helps graduates study in other member countries 1961 – South Africa withdraws from the Commonwealth 1961 – Republic of Cyprus, Sierra Leone, and the United Republic of Tanzania join The Commonwealth 1962 – Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uganda join The Commonwealth 1963 – Kenya joins the Commonwealth 1964 – Malawi, Malta and Zambia join The Commonwealth 1965 – The Gambia and Singapore join The Commonwealth 1965
    [Show full text]
  • The Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal: the Evolution and Explanation of Changes to the Tribunal’S Statute
    Chapter 10 The Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal: The Evolution and Explanation of Changes to the Tribunal’s Statute Alice Lacourt* Abstract This chapter seeks to interrogate the rationale for the establishment of the Common- wealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal (csat) and examine how the Statute creating the Tribunal has evolved. Several applicants in the early cases before csat brought parallel litigation before the domestic courts of the United Kingdom. Arguments based on lo- cal law acted as a counterpoint to developments in the case law and Statute of csat. The resulting csat decisions delineated key principles on human rights and access to justice, which are still relevant today. csat—and the nature of the applications before it—continues to evolve, and this chapter concludes by identifying some lessons learned so far and what to expect going forward. 1 Introduction This chapter is divided into six sections. In this first section, the domestic law framework of the Commonwealth Secretariat is considered, together with identifying the present-day principle features of the Commonwealth Secre- tariat Arbitral Tribunal (csat), as well as the wider context. Sections 2 and 3 provide a brief history of the Commonwealth Secretariat and overview of its organizational structure and governance, respectively. Section 4 examines how employment-related disputes were initially resolved at the Common- wealth Secretariat and the factors that led up to and informed the establish- ment of csat. Section 5 then analyses how the early cases before the Tribunal in fact shaped csat, together with the evolving roles of the Board of Governors * Alice Lacourt, Legal Counsel, Commonwealth Secretariat, [email protected].
    [Show full text]
  • How to Keep up with the Commonwealth
    How to Keep up with the Commonwealth The most useful tool is The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs. Founded in 1910 by the ‘Round Table Moot’, this quarterly journal published anonymous reports until 1966. It ceased publication briefly between 1981 and 1983. Publishing five issues a year from 2000, its regular features include ‘Commonwealth Update’ by Derek Ingram and ‘Documentation’, which provides the full texts of such material as Chogm Communiqués and C-Mag reports. Leading Commonwealth figures, as well as commentators and academics, con- tribute signed articles. The Round Table is available on line at <www.carfax.co.uk >. The official reference book is The Commonwealth Yearbook (produced since 1996 by Hanson Cooke for the Commonwealth Secretariat). It is the successor to The Colonial Office List and The Commonwealth Relations Office List, which were followed by The Commonwealth Office Year Book in 1967 after the CO and CRO had merged. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (created by a further merger in 1968) changed the title to The Commonwealth Yearbook in 1987, and in 1993 trans- ferred the title and responsibility to the Commonwealth Secretariat. The format was changed from 1996 in association with the new pub- lishing partner. The other important official reference book is Commonwealth at the Summit, vol. 1 Communiqués of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings 1944–1986 (1987) and vol. 2 Communiqués of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings 1987–1995 (1997). The texts from the 1997 and subsequent Chogms were published by the Secretariat in sep- arate pamphlets. Other useful reference works include: The 231 232 A Guide to the Contemporary Commonwealth Commonwealth Minister’s Reference Book (from 1989/90 by Kensington Publications); Alan Palmer, Dictionary of the British Empire and Commonwealth (1996), and House of Commons, Session 1995–6, Foreign Affairs Committee First Report The Future Role of the Commonwealth, vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Institute of Commonwealth Studies
    University of London INSTITUTE OF COMMONWEALTH STUDIES VOICE FILE NAME: COHP Gerald Hensley Key: SO: Dr Sue Onslow (Interviewer) GH: Mr Gerald Hensley (Respondent) SO: Dr Sue Onslow talking to Mr Gerald Hensley in Martinborough, New Zealand, on Wednesday 2nd April 2014. Mr Hensley, thank you very much indeed for inviting me to this beautiful spot. I wonder, Sir, if you could please begin by talking about how you came to be recruited to the Commonwealth Secretariat from the New Zealand Diplomatic Service? GH: Well, like a lot of these things, it was purely accidental. I was Head of the Pacific and Antarctic Division in the New Zealand Foreign Ministry, but Alister McIntosh, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, was a leading candidate for the position of Secretary General in 1965. The Commonwealth Prime Ministers had agreed to set up the Commonwealth Secretariat and in ’65 they had worked out details of how the Secretariat would operate. The next step was of course to recruit the Secretary General. It wasn’t done by any open election; it was done in a very Commonwealth way, by consultation among people around the world and McIntosh from New Zealand appeared to be the leading candidate. Then, rather surprisingly, Britain put forward a rather obscure man - the Governor of Honduras, I think from memory, as their candidate. And it was pretty obvious then that the aim was to spoil McIntosh’s chances. It was a mystery for years; Arnold Smith and I used to speculate why they would have done it and subsequently I suppose the most plausible explanation is that McIntosh was, although not known to us at the time, a homosexual, and it may have been they felt he was a security risk.
    [Show full text]
  • Arens Preston.Pdf (1.875Mb)
    “To Tidy Minds it May Appear Illogical”: How the Commonwealth Evolved from an ‘Imperial Club’ to an International Organisation by Preston Arens A thesis presented to the University Of Waterloo in fulfilment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2020 © Preston Arens 2020 Examining Committee Membership The following served on the Examining Committee for this thesis. The decision of the Examining Committee is by majority vote. External Examiner DR. SARAH STOCKWELL Professor in Imperial & Commonwealth History King’s College London Supervisor DR. DAN GORMAN Professor of History University of Waterloo Internal Member DR. DOUGLAS PEERS Professor of History University of Waterloo Internal-external Member DR. ERIC HELLEINER Professor of Political Science University of Waterloo Other Member(s) DR. KEVIN SPOONER Associate Professor of North American Studies and History Wilfrid Laurier University ii Author’s Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. iii Abstract The history of the Commonwealth is vast and multifaceted. It touches on myriad fields, actors, and eras, and reaches from the local to the global. Amidst the Gordian knot of Commonwealth history this thesis is about understanding the organisational history of the Commonwealth on its own terms, rather than as a derivative topic of other fields. Building on the premise that the Commonwealth today is an international organisation (IO), this thesis argues that the Commonwealth transitioned from an imperial club to an international organisation in the 1960s, hinging on the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat in 1965.
    [Show full text]
  • Fast Facts: Commonwealth Secretary-General
    A briefing for journalists | 1 April 2016 Fast Facts: Commonwealth Secretary-General Appointed Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to South Mandate and Tenure Africa in 2012. The Commonwealth Secretary-General promotes and Elected as the Alderman of Bishopsgate in the City protects the Commonwealth’s values, represents the of London in 2014. Commonwealth globally, and manages the Other offices include Chancellor of the University of Commonwealth Secretariat. Greenwich, Patron of the Corporate Alliance Against The Secretary-General maintains regular high-level Domestic Violence, Patron of Lifeline (Trinidad & contacts with Commonwealth governments and civil Tobago) and the Caribbean Science Foundation. society leaders. In addition, he or she exercises a ‘Good Offices for Peace’ role to work with political leaders when the Commonwealth’s shared values come under stress. The Secretary-General is nominated by Commonwealth leaders and can serve a maximum of two four-year terms. The post was first created - alongside the Commonwealth Secretariat - at the Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference in 1965 in London, United Kingdom. Since then six persons have held the role. Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC became Secretary- General on 1 April 2016 having been appointed by Heads of Government at their meeting in November 2015. Profile: Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC – the new Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Janet Scotland was born on the 19th August 1955 in Dominica. Secretary-General Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC Moved to the UK with her family, growing up in east London. Trained as a lawyer and became the first black woman to be appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1991. At 35 she was also the youngest woman Former Secretaries-General ever to be made a QC.
    [Show full text]
  • CEN-Commemorative-Publication.Pdf
    Commonwealth Electoral Network (CEN) Conference Trinidad and Tobago 2016 Waterfront Photo, in Port of Spain Trinidad and Tobago. The CEN Conference takes place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel located at this venue. Electoral commissions from across the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) of Commonwealth will meet in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Mr Mark Ramkerrysingh, Trinidad and Tobago, for an International Chairman of the EBC will lead this country’s Conference to advance Commonwealth delegation and says that “The Commonwealth Principles in Elections Management. Electoral Network is an important body in developing the capacity of electoral The Commonwealth Electoral Network’s (CEN) management bodies in the Commonwealth 2016 Biennial Conference will identify guiding for the conduct of fair, credible and inclusive principles and practices for elections, drawing elections. It has also proven itself useful in upon the experiences of election management providing a forum for the sharing of experiences bodies in the Commonwealth’s 53 member among electoral management bodies which countries. leads to an improvement in the functioning of these bodies which are so crucial to our The Conference is convened by the democracies. We therefore look forward to the Commonwealth Secretariat led by the 2016 Biennial Conference with the expectation Commonwealth Deputy Secretary General, that it will further the vision and the purpose of Dr. Josephine Ojiambo and will be hosted by the CEN”. 3 Programme The 2016 Conference is intended to offer opportunities for debate, knowledge and information sharing among election practitioners and will focus on contemporary priorities and challenges faced by electoral management bodies such as ensuring equal access for all voters during elections.
    [Show full text]