Technical rules derived from the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the International Maritime Organisation

In order to regulate the international civil navigation (air and maritime), the States have chosen to act through two specialized United Nations agencies. Hence they confered the International Civil Aviaton Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) the power to oversee the elaboration of technical rules relevant to this field.

In general, the rules adopted by these organizations require various forms of States acceptance to be effective (i.e. express or implied, collective or individual forms). Their implementation depends on unilateral acts of States, that can sometimes act sometimes collectively. And the States are often amicably controlled by the ICAO or the IMO.

Behind the apparent clarity, lay some gray areas. Beyond the situation of third and private individuals, and the relationship between international order and national legal systems, one can wonder about the nature of these normative institutions. These could be perceived as normative authorities acting on the basis of an established power. However, this interpretation would ignore the incessant game of States' will. Whenever the will of the States stretches the power of the institution, the irreducible constituent and contractual freedom of the States appears. The degree of centralization of these systems would be blurred by the observation that their effectiveness depends on the willingness itself of their subjects, which is more or less held by technical necessities, and that would not be without practical consequences.