— Also termed Interpol.
“Interpol is something of a legal curiosity: it engages in intergovernmental activities and yet is not based on any treaty, convention, or other similar instrument. Its founding document is a constitution, drawn up by a group of police officers, that has neither been submitted for diplomatic signatures nor ratified by governments. Nevertheless, the organization received de facto recognition from the outset…. Interpol was formally granted the status of an ‘intergovernmental agency’ by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in 1971, and this is regarded as a form of de jure legitimization.” Michael Fooner, “Interpol,” in 3 Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice 910, 910 (Sanford H. Kadish ed., 1983).
