This book would not have been possible without the support of Professors Niels Blokker and Brian McGarry. I felt privileged to have two exceptional legal minds by my side throughout this intellectually rewarding journey. Their wisdom and wealth of experience were inspirational. I was impressed by the breadth and depth of comments and recommendations they gracefully provided for each chapter. Please accept my sincere gratitude for your outstanding help.
I am indebted to my fellow international civil servants practising international institutional law in various intergovernmental organisations who kindly agreed to share with me the internal policies, practices, and, in some cases, challenges of their igos. More specifically, I would like to extend my thanks to Andres Munoz, Director of Legal Affairs of aco-nato; Felipe Rojas Ceballos, Principal Legal Advisor of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; Jasmine Begum, Regional Director of Legal and Governance Affairs of asean; Giuseppina De Marco, Assistant General Counsel at idlo; Aleksandr Kuzmenko, Head of Legal Department of the Organisation for International Carriage by Rail; Teimuraz Antelava, Senior Legal Officer at idlo and former Legal Advisor of Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization; Nikolaj Gube, Deputy Head Legal and Institutional Affairs of the European Southern Observatory; Darius Campbell, Secretary of the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission; and many others who expressly asked to remain anonymous.
Finally, my profound appreciation goes to my wife for her endless encouragement and wise counsel throughout this project. I would also like to thank my children for their understanding and patience. I would not have made it without my family’s unwavering support over the past few years.