Does the Inviolability of Archives Lead to a Catch-22 Situation?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35487/rius.v11i40.2017.342Keywords:
Confidentiality, fight against corruption, human rights violations, international organizations.Abstract
In contrast to Joseph Heller’s novel ‘Catch-22’, the illogical or paradoxical situation arising from the privilege of inviolability of archives in international organisations’ cooperation with national in the fight against fraud and corruption
is one of different legal orders that are not necessarily aligned from the outset. National law enforcement and judicial authorities have to respect the privilege of inviolability of archives enjoyed by international organisations. They may neither interpret the privilege restrictively without taking full account at the same
time of the purpose of privileges, i.e. the orderly and independent operation of international organisations, nor generally limit the privilege in any other way. It therefore lies in the hands of international organisations themselves to limit the risk of a catch-22 situation arising from the privilege of inviolability of archives
in their cooperation with national authorities. However, the onus is not only on international organisations. Any reasonable use of the privilege presupposes that national law enforcement and judicial authorities acknowledge its existence and deal with it respectfully.
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