Geneva hosts the European headquarters of the United Nations and a large number of international organisations, and Basel is the seat of the Bank for International Settlements. The articles collected here explain the role of these organisations in Switzerland, the legal status and privileges of international organisations and their staff, the tradition of Swiss good offices and arbitration, and the connection between international Geneva and its financial centre. They are of particular interest to governments, state-owned enterprises and companies that deal with international organisations or with their suppliers.
Geneva hosts the European headquarters of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization and many other international organisations, and Basel is the seat of the Bank for International Settlements. Their presence shapes the city's economy, its diplomacy and its role as a place of dispute resolution.
Around the organisations themselves a wide community has grown: permanent missions of states, non-governmental organisations, international sports federations and the service providers who work for all of them. For foreign companies and professionals this environment offers contacts, procurement opportunities and access to expertise in trade, health, intellectual property and humanitarian affairs that is concentrated in few other places.
Switzerland grants international organisations privileges and immunities through headquarters agreements and the Federal Host State Act. Immunity from jurisdiction means that a contract partner cannot simply sue an organisation before the Swiss courts, so disputes are usually resolved by arbitration or by internal mechanisms. Suppliers and employees should read the dispute resolution clause of a contract with an organisation carefully before signing it.
The same environment explains why Geneva is an established seat for international arbitration and mediation. The World Intellectual Property Organization runs its own arbitration and mediation centre there, and the neutrality of Switzerland makes it acceptable to parties from very different legal traditions. Families and companies from Asia, the Middle East and Africa often choose Geneva for exactly this reason.
The articles explain the international organisations in Switzerland, their legal status and privileges, and the connection between international Geneva, its financial centre and its tradition of arbitration.