The United Nations (UN) are in a crisis, not least because of their lack of democratic legitimacy: too many of the member countries are non-democratic, and internal procedures in the UN are unnecessarily closed to public debate and scrutiny. A panel of eminent experts led by Fernando Enrique Cardoso made proposals for reform. In a contribution to a book on the rule of international law in a globalised world, R. Andreas Kraemer assesses the panel's proposals.

This project analyses the importance of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the relationship between the legal basis and the practical influence of NGOs in different areas of international environmental governance.

The book "Participation of Non-Governmental Organisations in International Environmental Co-operation" analyses the importance of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the relationship between the legal basis and the practical influence of NGOs in different areas of international environmental governance.

The main conclusions and results of a study exploring functions, rules and practices of NGO participation in international environmental co-operation are presented in an Ecologic Brief. This Ecologic Brief identifies a number of options for a strengthened participation of NGOs in international environmental governance and is intended to contribute to the related international discussions.