Institutional Transplantation and the Rule of Law: How this Interdisciplinary Method can enhance the Legitimacy of International Organisations

Although the infl uence of various Western countries, especially that of the United States, is still substantial, the stars of China, India, Russia, Brazil and other large developing states are rising. Within international organisations this trend has become visible through a growing reluctance of non-Western states to accept and go along with the political, legal and economic diktats of European and American-fl avoured recipes and policies. This trend also has an impact on the compliance of international organisations with rule-of-law conceptions, which are not universal but depart from the cultural and national assumptions embraced mostly in Western countries. Even though the legality of international organisations may not be disputed as such in non-Western countries, the administrative and cultural acceptance of these organisations often remains questionable. This undermines the conception and the functioning of the rule of law at the international level. One of the ways in which acceptance of the rule of law can be enhanced at the international level is by utilising a method known as ‘institutional transplantation’. This method aims to facilitate new legal and policy initiatives through an adoption process in which the chances of achieving political and cultural congruence and desirability are maximised. After presenting the six principles underlying this approach, this article examines the case of the World Bank’s Inspection Panel, in order to show how these principles can be applied in practice.