International Constitution vs. National Constitution

In modern int. law, not only state but International Organisation also is included as one of the subjects of international law.

Government works as the representative of its citizens whereas an int. org. composed of sovereign, states voluntarily join for common pursuit of certain goals. In national state, various branches of government, together with their powers, are laid down in a constitution; provisions are binding upon the individual citizens. An international organisation, on the other hand, rests upon its concerned constitutions, which are much less, secure. The functions of modern states and the rights, duties, and powers of their instrumentalities are governed by their respective constitutional laws. Similarly, I/Os are regulated by a body of rules embodied in their respective documents that may well be described as international constitution law. The customary separation of powers on a national level into executive, legislative, and judicial branches is roughly approximated in an international organisation. The constitutional structure of the International Organisations does not follow precisely the same pattern as in the constitutions of modern states but there are significant analogies between them. Constitutionally, functions of states are split up into three-folds - executive, legislative and judiciary. Let us see how far these three branches of both the constitutions are resembled or differed.

Executive:

It is true that there is no central executive organ with the same degree of authority over the international community as any government exercises over a modern state. In fact, there is no executive organ in international organisation, athough certain organs are assigned special duties and are permitted to act in specific situations. In administration, the permanent secretariat of an I/O has an extremely important function. The Secretary-General is the executive head of the secretariat and can speak for the organisation.

Legislative

International Organisations does not possess legislative body in the ordinary sense. Ordinarily, the organisation meets in regular annual session with an equal representation from all members. The annual conference is essentially a policy-making body, performing in addition to various financial and supervisory duties. It carries out certain constituent functions.

Judicial:

The differences between the judicial functions of national and international tribunals are even more apparent. The ICJ functions as the judicial organ of the UN, but substantially, it differs with the national courts in many ways. The Court can neither exercise its jurisdictions, nor execute its decisions likewise the national courts. Above all, filing of suits in the international court does not happen precisely like filing cases before the national courts. There are complicated procedures.