International Organisations Law (IOL) is the body of legal principles, rules, and practices that govern the creation, functioning, powers, privileges, responsibilities, and legal status of international governmental organisations (IGOs). These are typically entities established around the world by treaties between states or other international actors, such as the United Nations (UN), the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union (EU).

IOL includes International Administrative Law, which functions globally as the employment law applicable to IGOs, as well as the Sanctions Regimes operated by the various multilateral development banks (MDBs), such as the World Bank in Washington DC and the ADB in Manila.

Barristers from Pavocat Chambers – and in particular Lee Marler – are renowned experts in this highly specialised and complex field of international law and they have operated over many years within the following IGOs:

Pavocat has operated within the following International Governmental Organisations

International Administrative Law (“IAL”) or the Law of the International Civil Service is the body of international law that has evolved over time to deal with employment-related disputes within international governmental organisations (“IGOs”).  The principles of IAL have emerged since 1949 from the judgements delivered by the various administrative tribunals operated globally by IGOs, such as the United Nations Administrative Tribunal (“UNAT”), the International Labour Organisation Administrative Tribunal (“ILOAT”), the World Bank Group Administrative Tribunal (“WBAT”), the Council of Europe Administrative Tribunal (“COEAT”) etc.

IAL serves to regulate how IGOs treat those who work for them and it is the body of law against which IGOs will be judged, as national employment or labour laws ordinarily have no application to employment-related disputes within those organisations.Few lawyers can claim to be experts in IAL, but the Pavocat IAL Team, led by Professor Lee Marler, comprises established IAL specialists who have been practicing in this niche field for decades.
Navigating the complexities of IAL can be daunting, but the Pavocat IAL Team is there to help:

“Lee provided me with unswerving, invaluable and discreet support during my time as Chair and thereafter. His IAL experience is vast and his depth of knowledge of the subject is hard to match. He is often involved in the ‘big cases’ of the day and it is no coincidence that he enjoys an enviable reputation for defending the interest of international civil servants around the world, many of whom turn to him directly for help in time of trouble.”

Robert Adamczyk
Former Chair, EBRD Staff Council

Pavocat has operated within the following International Governmental Organisations

Multilateral Development Banks (“MDBs” – also known as “IFIs” or International Financial Institutions ), such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank Group, are international governmental organisations created by treaties. Those treaties ordinarily specify that the MDBs are obliged to ensure that the money they lend or donate arrives at its intended destination untouched by fraud, corruption, and other sanctionable practices.

The MDBs achieve this primary integrity objective by each establishing counter-corruption offices, such as the Integrity Vice Presidency (INT) at the World Bank and the Office of Anticorruption and Integrity (OAI) at the ADB, whose responsibility it is to investigate and prosecute – within the sanctions regimes operated by them – those companies and individuals who are suspected of engaging in sanctionable practices (i.e. fraudulent, corrupt, coercive, collusive or obstructive practices, or other integrity violations) on bank-financed projects:

e.g., OAI at the ADB will investigate a company suspected of paying a bribe on an ADB-financed project in order to secure a contract from the state to which the Bank lent money. If sufficient evidence exists to support an accusation that the company engaged in a corrupt practice, then OAI will commence sanctions proceedings within its sanctions mechanism.

Companies and/or individuals found guilty of engaging in a sanctionable practice (e.g., by the World Bank’s Sanctions Board on a case brought before it by INT) face debarment for a specified period, which means that during that period, the company and/or individual is prohibited from bidding for contracts on projects funded by that MDB and – because of cross debarment – any other MDB. As well as debarment, the entity or person found guilty of engaging in a sanctionable practice on an MDB-financed project risks being referred to law enforcement by the relevant bank for further investigation and possible prosecution.

Barristers within Pavocat Chambers have extensive knowledge and experience in defending companies and individuals accused by the various MDBs of engaging in sanctionable practices. For example, Lee Marler, who leads Pavocat Chambers MDB Sanctions Practice Group, has for decades both prosecuted on behalf of the MDBs and defended against them. He has gravitas and standing in this field – having previously led operations at the EBRD in London and the World Bank’s INT in Washington DC – and has been involved in some of the largest cases ever brought by the MDB community. Lee enjoys an enviable and well-deserved reputation as a top-tier global MDB sanctions practitioner.

“A true ‘heavy weight’ in the MDB world and a highly effective attorney, whether he is prosecuting for the Banks or defending against them. Lee is one of the limited lawyers of choice.”

Leonard McCarthy
The World Bank Group’s Vice President, Integrity (2008-2017)

Multilateral Development Banks (“MDBs” – also known as “IFIs” or International Financial Institutions ), such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank Group, are international governmental organisations created by treaties. Those treaties ordinarily specify that the MDBs are obliged to ensure that the money they lend or donate arrives at its intended destination untouched by fraud, corruption, and other sanctionable practices.

The MDBs achieve this primary integrity objective by each establishing counter-corruption offices, such as the Integrity Vice Presidency (INT) at the World Bank and the Office of Anticorruption and Integrity (OAI) at the ADB, whose responsibility it is to investigate and prosecute – within the sanctions regimes operated by them – those companies and individuals who are suspected of engaging in sanctionable practices (i.e. fraudulent, corrupt, coercive, collusive or obstructive practices, or other integrity violations) on bank-financed projects:

e.g., OAI at the ADB will investigate a company suspected of paying a bribe on an ADB-financed project in order to secure a contract from the state to which the Bank lent money. If sufficient evidence exists to support an accusation that the company engaged in a corrupt practice, then OAI will commence sanctions proceedings within its sanctions mechanism.

Companies and/or individuals found guilty of engaging in a sanctionable practice (e.g., by the World Bank’s Sanctions Board on a case brought before it by INT) face debarment for a specified period, which means that during that period, the company and/or individual is prohibited from bidding for contracts on projects funded by that MDB and – because of cross debarment – any other MDB. As well as debarment, the entity or person found guilty of engaging in a sanctionable practice on an MDB-financed project risks being referred to law enforcement by the relevant bank for further investigation and possible prosecution.

Barristers within Pavocat Chambers have extensive knowledge and experience in defending companies and individuals accused by the various MDBs of engaging in sanctionable practices. For example, Lee Marler, who leads Pavocat Chambers MDB Sanctions Practice Group, has for decades both prosecuted on behalf of the MDBs and defended against them. He has gravitas and standing in this field – having previously led operations at the EBRD in London and the World Bank’s INT in Washington DC – and has been involved in some of the largest cases ever brought by the MDB community. Lee enjoys an enviable and well-deserved reputation as a top-tier global MDB sanctions practitioner.

“A true ‘heavy weight’ in the MDB world and a highly effective attorney, whether he is prosecuting for the Banks or defending against them. Lee is one of the limited lawyers of choice.”

Leonard McCarthy
The World Bank Group’s Vice President, Integrity (2008-2017)