International organisations (IOs) play a growing role as standard setting bodies in supporting regulatory co-operation. Evidence shows that IOs contribute to International Regulatory Co-operation (IRC) by: 

• offering platforms for continuous dialogue on regulatory issues;
• facilitating the comparability of approaches and practices;
• providing member countries with flexible mechanisms to identify and adapt to new and emerging regulatory areas or issues;
• contributing to the development of a common regulatory language
• developing international legal and policy instruments. 

 

THE OECD HAS RECENTLY:

• promoted a partnership for effective international rule-making with over 40 international organisations to foster collective action among IOs and their constituency to promote greater quality, effectiveness and impact of international rules. 

• completed a stocktaking of the governance, operational modalities, tools, rule-making disciplines and assessment of implementation and impacts of IRC mechanisms of IOs based on a survey filled by some 50 IOs. 

• carried out with partner institutions studies of rule-making practices of IOs, starting in 2014 with the cases of OECD and IMO. In 2016, new studies were developed with: FAO, ISO, OIML, WHO and UNECE.

 

BACKGROUND

The OECD’s work on IRC and IOs initiated in a broader study of the various mechanisms available to governments to promote regulatory co-operation, and their benefits and challenges, International Regulatory Co-operation: Addressing Global Challenges.

In November 2014, the OECD launched Regulatory Co-operation and International Organisations: The Cases of the OECD and the IMO, an initial analysis of the rule-making activities of international organisations.

 

EVENTS ON IOs AND IRC

• The Contribution of International Organisations to a Rule-Based International System: Key results from the partnership of international organisations for effective international rulemaking, New York, 10 April 2019
• 5th meeting of International Organisations: Better International Rules for Inclusive Globalisation, Palais des Nations, Geneva, 12 April 2018
• Brainstorming session, Partnership for effective international rule-making, OECD Conference Centre, 6 November 2017. 
• 4th OECD meeting of International Organisations: A Partnership for Effective International Rule-Making, OECD Conference Centre, 25 April 2017
• Joining Forces on Global Standards for Better Lives, OECD Conference Centre, 2 November 2016
• 3rd OECD meeting of International Organisations, OECD Conference Centre, 15 April 2016
• 2nd OECD meeting of International Organisations: Fostering the Contribution of International Organisations to Better Rules of Globalisation, OECD Conference Centre, 17 April 2015.
• 1st OECD meeting of International Organisations: The Role of International Organisations, OECD Conference Centre, 16 April 2014.

 

RELEVANT LINKS

• OIE International Standards implementation, a path to more efficient national animal health systems
• ISO/IEC initiative on the use of standards to support public policy

 

REPORT

• Facilitating trade through regulatory cooperation: The case of the WTO's TBT/SPS Agreements and Committees - English - 3 July 2019

 

MORE ON:

• International Regulatory Co-operation: The Role of International Organisations in Fostering Better Rules of Globalisation
• International Regulatory Co-operation - Adapting rules to an interconnected world
• Regulatory policy and governance