Public Participation in Decision-Making: The World Bank Inspection Panel

The prism of public participation sheds light on the changes that have occurred within the international legal order sinee the 1940s. The foundations of this order have rernained unchanged. They are the principles of sovereignty and equality of states-also referred to in a combined format as sovereign equaliti-and codified in the United Nations Charter and other related instruments. States are the primary subjects of this order and each of them is under the obligation to respect the sovereignty of the others. Rules such as that prohibiting intervention are but corollaries of this core dut Y.' Whereas state sovereignty remains the foundation of the international legal system, this is the case in a sociological environment which has evolved in the last fi ft Y years3 The international scene is more diverse. By 'international scene ' is meant the actors-states, international organizations and non-state actors-and the rules and institutions which allow for their interactions. States retain a pre-eminent role, but they n