ILASS Speakers Series - Formal Change in International Organizations: How Amendment Rules Matter

We are pleased to announce the International Law and Social Science Speakers Series for Fall 2025, co-sponsored by the International Law and Social Science Interest Group of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) and the Social Sciences and International Law Interest Group of the European Society of International Law (ESIL).

Authors: Kristina Daugirdas, Tom Ginsburg and David Crabtree

When do international organizations change their charters? In recent years, a vibrant interdisciplinary literature has greatly enriched our understanding of international organizations (IOs), including how these entities evolve over time. But formal change has not been a major topic of analysis, in part because the empirical basis was lacking. In this article, we draw on a new comprehensive dataset of IO charters to explore the phenomenon of formal amendments. We show that, in contrast with the literature on national constitutions, formal amendment rules correlate with observed amendments of IO charters. More flexible rules predict more amendment events, net of other factors. We also find that democratic IOs, defined as those with a high proportion of democratic members, are more likely to amend their charters. Finally, we show that flexible amendment rules extend the life of IOs, which is consistent with the literature on national constitutions.

Speaker: Tom Ginsburg, University of Chicago Law School

Commentator: Jan Klabbers, University of Cambridge, Faculty of Law

Moderator: Anne van Aaken, University Hamburg, Faculty of Law