This chapter begins by introducing administration – the action of issuing and adhering to binding and impersonal instructions – as the exercise of internal authority attributed by the treaty-basis of international organizations to the principle executive officer, their delegates and regulating governance organ. Second, the legal principles of administration are identified, namely: (1) Administrative authority is unilateral, but may not be arbitrary; (2) Internal law must be adhered to, but may be amended; and (3) Structural terms of employment cannot be suppressed. Third, two attendant legal duties of administration are considered, as follows: (1) Administration must be diligent; and (2) Administration must ensure safety. Fourth, the relevance of practice to administration is considered. Fifth, and in conclusion, this employment law of administration at international organizations is restated.

This chapter examines the decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), which rely primarily on sociotechnical infrastructures supplied by blockchain technology and consist substantially of combinations of shared computer code and shared data. The chapter considers DAOs using the governing knowledge commons (GKC) research framework, contrasting the GKC perspective with long-standing views of the corporate form as a nexus of contracts, as an instance of hierarchy and decision theory, and as a complex system. The analysis is set against the context of earlier work on the corporation as commons. The chapter concludes that the GKC framework focuses attention on elements of governance that often are not salient in conventional accounts. This is especially true of the important question of how governance responds to and generates social dilemmas associated specifically with practices of sharing knowledge, information, and data.

This chapter begins by asking the question, what is the employment law at international organizations? The answer – international administrative law – implements the treaty-basis of international organizations. Second, the chapter sets out how this book paradigmatically structures international administrative law as the encounter between the status of the international civil service, administrative authority at international organizations and the influence of judgments of international administrative tribunals. Third, this book interprets international administrative law as a framework of interconnected legal principles and legal duties. Fourth, and in conclusion, the chapter identifies ways in which the book may be useful to different types of readers, namely: the employees and managers at international organizations; Member States; lawyers and students of the law; and those wanting to apply the employment law at international organizations to circumstances that seem advanced, rather than introductory.

This chapter introduces the major themes, questions, methods, and layout of the book.

Corporations act as entities addressing the world with a single face and voice, with the law resorting to metaphors such as “person” and “body” to present the group as an entity distinct from its members. Four historic models of group action, which can hybridize across time, can provide an added functional analysis: the “cathedral” built by self-regulating guilds and societies; the “factory” resting on division of labour and hierarchical organization; the “bazaar” of adjoining enterprises providing some level of market integration between traders; and the “commune” resting on personalized bonds and common purposes. All types are affected by coordination problems arising whenever members must take joint decisions or set up a deliberative system for forming judgements preparatory to taking decisions. While a group can be said to attain corporate status when it functions as a univocal entity owning its actions, in order to act effectively, the corporation must develop techniques to gather and process information attained by its agents, much of which will be predictions of the conduct of other agents. The corporation exists to cultivate and embody common knowledge. Preceding this chapter’s conceptual analysis is a case study of the historically important and now-troubled Boeing.

Chapter 1 reconstitutes Cuban and US history from 1898 to the 1970s, with sexuality at the center, focusing on the New Deal, Cold War, Red/Lavender Scare, first two Cuban Republics, and the Cuban Revolution. It tells the story of how the Cuban homosexual acquired a specific meaning associated with the prerevolutionary experience of US imperialism.

This chapter begins by describing ending service – the automated discontinuance of the employment of international officials, administrated in accordance with the authority of the principal executive officer to achieve an adaptable, effective and highly efficient international organization. (Differently, administrative action may terminate employment as a consequence of performance management – see Chapter 8, ‘Performance Management’ – and as consequence of the enforcement of standards of conduct – see Chapter 10, ‘Misconduct’ – at international organizations.) Second, the legal principles of ending service are identified, namely: (1) Absent abuse of discretion, deference is owed organizational restructuring; (2) Absent abuse of discretion, deference is owed appointment nonrenewal; and (3) Mutually agreed termination may obtain legal release. Third, the related governance of ending service is considered, namely the legal duties that: (1) Abolition of post must be credible; and (2) Recourse to redundancy must exhaust practicable alternatives. Fourth, the chapter addresses service ending in circumstances of an international official unable – as a result of illness or injury – or unwilling to perform their duties. Fifth, service ending upon attainment by a staff member of a mandatory retirement age is examined. Sixth, and in conclusion, this employment law of ending service at international organizations is restated.

This chapter examines decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) as emergent forms of software or knowledge commons, applying the governing knowledge commons (GKC) framework. It argues that DAOs, characterised by their reliance on blockchain-enabled smart contracts and elimination of hierarchical management, represent a novel form of collective decision-making and governance. The analysis distinguishes between on-chain and off-chain governance models, evaluating their effectiveness in ensuring decentralisation and addressing internal conflicts, with particular emphasis on the unique conflict resolution mechanisms available to DAOs (such as "forking" and "rage-quitting"). An important insight is that the rules-in-use in on-chain governance and off-chain governance are likely to be very different. The chapter also considers the robustness decentralised systems in managing common-pool resources.