The Office of the Legal Counsel of the World Health Organization

The chapter provides an overview of the Legal Adviser’s role at the World Health Organization: a specialized agency of the UN and the only global intergovernmental organization with a specific mandate in the field of public health. The piece considers the WHO’s membership, governance structure, special arrangements, and broad mandate and explicates the historical, structural, and functional roles of the WHO Office of the Legal Counsel. The Office’s recent development and practice is representative of many legal advisory bodies in other international organizations, and many of the Office’s legal services fall within the typical functions of a large institution’s legal office: advisory, negotiation, external representation, support, litigation, drafting, compliance, and standard-setting roles and functions. The chapter is clear, however, that global health governance is characterized by increasing politicization, which has penetrated the WHO’s agenda and led to shifting demands and expectations. These have placed specific and significant pressures on the Legal Adviser and the Office, and have required the Office to innovate beyond its traditional in-house role, increasing its participation in the development of international health law.