INTERPOL has its origins in the early twentieth century when high-ranking police officials from twenty European States came together to create a centralized police cooperation agency. At 1923 Criminal Police Congress in Vienna, in response to the need for enhanced international police cooperation to tackle international crime, theInternational Criminal Police Commission („ICPC‟) was established, headquartered in Vienna, and at that stage under the management of Austrian police. When the institution subsequently came under the control of Nazi Germany, its headquarters were moved to Berlin and most national police forces withdrew their participation.

2. 2
1. Introduction
INTERPOL has its origins in the early
twentieth century, when high-ranking
police officials from twenty European
States came together to create a centralised
police cooperation agency. At the 1923
Criminal Police Congress in Vienna, in
response to the need for enhanced
international police cooperation to tackle
international crime, the International
Criminal Police Commission („ICPC‟) was
established, headquartered in Vienna and
at that stage under the management of
Austrian police. When the institution
subsequently came under the control of
Nazi Germany, its headquarters were
moved to Berlin and most national police
forces withdrew their participation (Fair
Trials, 2013).
Only after the Second World War did the
former members reconvene and establish
the forerunner to the present INTERPOL,
drawing up a Constitution agreed in 1946.
The headquarters were this time in France,
and management was closely linked to the
French Government until the organisation
was reformed again in 1956. This followed
the earlier withdrawal of the United States
Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1950
after the ICPC had assisted
Czechoslovakia, then a communist State,
to seek the arrest of two dissidents who
had escaped and been granted asylum in
West Germany. The adoption of the ICPO-
INTERPOL Constitution (the
„Constitution‟) and General Regulations in
1956 marks the genesis of INTERPOL in
its present form, which is the subject of
this Report (Fair Trials, 2013).
Interpol is a dubious legal object (Deirdre,
1998). INTERPOL, is an international
organization that facilitates worldwide
police cooperation and crime control. The
Agency was founded in Vienna, Austria on
7 September, 1923 and has its
Headquarters in Lyon, France with seven
(7) regional Bureaus globally and a
National Central Bureau in all member
states, making it the world largest police
organization (Temitope, 2020).
INTERPOL with its 188 members, it is the
second largest international entity after the
United Nations. It plays a crucial role in
facilitating the cooperation between
national police forces and in supporting the
global fight against transnational crime,
terrorism included(Mario,2008/9).
The General Secretariat headquarters of
INTERPOL in Lyon, maintains seven
regional bureaus and three special
representative offices: Buenos Aires,
Argentina; Brussels, Belgium (special
representative office to the European
Union); Yaoundé, Cameroon; Abidjan,
Côte d'Ivoire; San Salvador, El Salvador;

3. 3
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (special
representative office to the African
Union); Nairobi, Kenya; Bangkok,
Thailand; New York City, United States
(special representative office to the United
nations); and Harare, Zimbabwe
(Temitope, 2020).
Despite its growing importance, Interpol is
still structured in many respects as an
informal network of national officials. It is
established outside an intergovernmental
convention. Part of its activities is informal
and based on non-binding rules. The
fundamental principle is voluntary
participation and cooperation of its
members. Judicial review is absent and
political control is, at best, quiescent
(Mario, 2008/9).
INTERPOL’s Mandate
With 190 member nations, Interpol is the
largest international law enforcement
agency in the world (INTERPOL, 2014).
The mandate and the primary task of
INTERPOL is to support police and law
enforcement agencies in its 190 member
countries in their efforts to prevent crime
and conduct criminal investigations as
efficiently and effectively as possible.
Specifically, INTERPOL facilitates cross
border police cooperation and, as
appropriate, supports governmental and
intergovernmental organizations,
authorities and services whose mission is
to prevent or combat crime.
INTERPOL’s Core Functions
In order to carry out its mandate,
INTERPOL provides its member countries
and designated partner organizations four
core functions or services:
1. Secure global police
communications services
INTERPOL recently designed and
implemented a state-of-the-art global
communications system for the law
enforcement community which is called
“I-24/7”. This new communication tool –
to which all member countries are already
connected – allows for the transmission of
information about suspected individuals
and crimes to INTERPOL‟s member
countries requiring assistance with
ongoing international investigations in a
secure manner within real time.
2. Global databases and data
services
Once police have the capability to
communicate internationally, they need
access to information which can assist
investigations or help prevent crime.
INTERPOL has therefore developed and
maintains a range of global databases and
data services, covering key information
such as names, fingerprints, photographs,

4. 4
DNA profiles of individuals under
investigation or wanted for arrest as well
as data concerning Stolen 2 and Lost
identification and Travel Documents
(SLTD), stolen vehicles, stolen works of
art and illicit weapons related to criminal
cases.
3. Operational police support
services
INTERPOL provides specific crime –
related support through its third core
function, the provision of operational
police support services. INTERPOL has
six priority crime areas: drugs and
organized crime, financial and high-tech
crime, fugitives, public safety and
terrorism, trafficking in human beings
(including crimes against children), and
corruption. Other crime areas of concern
include, inter alia, environmental and
intellectual property crime. INTERPOL
convenes theme-oriented specialized
working groups which bring together
experts from around the world to share
expertise and develop and promote best
practice in investigation techniques.
INTERPOL also conducts thematic
criminal analysis in order to, inter alia,
detect new crime trends, trace criminal
networks, determine modus operandi, and
identify perpetrators.
In addition to specific crime area support,
INTERPOL operates a Command and
Coordination Centre (“CCC”) 24 hours a
day/7 days a week, linking the General
Secretariat, regional offices and all NCBs
for urgent police-related matter or
emergency. The CCC co-ordinates the
exchange of information between member
countries requesting assistance with
international investigations. The CCC also
assumes a crisis-management role during
serious incidents and serves as the first
point of contact for any member country
which might require assistance with a
crisis situation. In addition, upon request
of a member country, INTERPOL can
deploy Incidence Response Teams (IRT)
which has the capacity to provide a range
of investigative and analytical support to
the local law enforcement authorities at the
scene of the incident.
4. Training and Development
INTERPOL enhances the capacity of
member countries to effectively combat
serious transnational crime and terrorism,
through the provision of
(a) Focused police training initiatives and
of
(b) on-demand advice, guidance and
support in building dedicated crime-
fighting components with national police
forces. The latter includes the sharing of

5. 5
knowledge, skills and best practices in
policing through INTERPOL channels and
the establishment of global standards on
how to combat specific forms of crimes.
Organisational structure of INTERPOL
Interpol‟s supreme governing body is the
General Assembly, comprised of delegates
appointed by each member nation. The
General Assembly meets annually to make
decisions relating to policy, resources,
finances, working methods and programs.
Interpol‟s Executive Committee oversees
the implementation of decisions made by
the General Assembly (INTERPOL,
2014). The Executive Committee is
composed of the President, three Vice
Presidents and nine Delegates, each from a
different member country. The day-to-day
operations of Interpol are carried out by
the General Secretariat, which is
headquartered in Lyon, France, and which
operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
(INTERPOL, 2014). The Secretariat also
has seven regional offices, and maintains
liaison offices at the United Nations in
New York and the European Union in
Brussels (INTERPOL, 2014). Former U.S.
Treasury Department official Ronald K.
Noble, the current Secretary General, is
charged with running the General
Secretariat
According article 5 of its Constitution, The
International Criminal Police Organization
- Interpol shall comprise:
1. The General Assembly
Article 6 states that The General Assembly
shall be the body of supreme authority in
the Organization. It is composed of
delegates appointed by the Members of the
Organization and in its Article 7 Each
Member may be represented by one or
several delegates; however, for each
country there shall be only one delegation
head, appointed by the competent
governmental authority of that country.
2. The Executive Committee
Article 15 of the constitution says The
Executive Committee shall be composed
of the President of the Organization, the
three Vice-Presidents and nine Delegates.
The thirteen members of the Executive
Committee shall belong to different
countries, due weight having been given to
geographical distribution.
3. The General Secretariat
Article 25 of the constitution says the
permanent departments of the
Organization shall constitute the General
Secretariat.
4. The National Central Bureaus

6. 6
According to article 31, in order to further
its aims, the Organization needs the
constant and active co-operation of its
Members, who should do all within their
power which is compatible with the
legislations of their countries to participate
diligently 1n its activities.
Article 32 In order to ensure the above co-
operation, each country shall appoint a
body which will serve as the National
Central Bureau. It shall ensure liaison
with:
(a) The various departments in the country;
(b) Those bodies in other countries serving
as National Central Bureaus;
(c) The Organization's General Secretary
5. The Advisors
According to Article 34 of the constitution
on scientific matters, the organization may
consult "Advisers". The role of the
Advisers shall be purely advisory they
shall be appointed for three years by the
Executive Committee. Their appointment
will become definite only after notification
by the General Assembly. They shall be
chosen from among those who have a
world-wide reputation in some field of
interest to the Organization.
Legal Status of INTERPOL
Because of the membership structure
international organisations can be divided
into international (intergovernmental)
organizations (IGOs); trans-governmental
organizations (TGOs); interregional
organizations (IROs); and international
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
INTERPOL represents one of these
organizations whose, legal nature there is
no agreement neither in international legal
doctrine nor in practice. According to the
understanding of the different authors,
these organizations are classified among
intergovernmental organizations or among
international non-governmental
organizations, and in certain cases their
nature is determined as sui generis.
(Runjic, 2017).
The status of the International Criminal
Police Organisation (INTERPOL) has long
been the source of much debate. Unlike
most international organisations, it was not
established by means of a treaty, and its
constitution agreed by senior police
officers and diplomats was not submitted
to national parliaments for ratification
(Tannock, 2013).
There are two major reasons why the legal
status of INTERPOL has been extensively
debated. The first as it is mentioned above
is the origin of INTERPOL, particularly
the fact that it was created

7. 7
unconventionally without a treaty. The
organisation was founded on the 7th of
September 1923, in Vienna, at The
International Police Congress. In there,
the forerunner of INTERPOL, the
International Criminal Police Commission
(ICPC), was formed by way of resolution
by a diverse group of police officers from
different countries wishing to create a
police-centric cooperative institution
(Calcara, 2020).
According to the chronicles of the time,
avoiding the use of a constitutive treaty
appeared to be a deliberate choice, as the
delegates of the congress wished to create
an international police entity capable of
operating transnationally, as free as
possible from legal restraints.
The second reason for uncertainty on the
legal status relates to the never truly
clarified question of what is the
membership of INTERPOL The object of
debate is in particular whether the states or
the domestic police bodies form the
membership of the organisation. The
reason for such doubts is once again rooted
in history. For an extensive period after its
creation, INTERPOL appeared to be some
sort of private club of policemen. The
1956 Constitution does not provide much
needed clarification with its unusual
wording. Article 4 states: „Any country
may delegate as a Member to the
Organization any official police body
whose functions come within the
framework of activities of the
Organization.
So here in order to talk about the legal
status of INTERPOL, it is first necessary
to have consensus on the meaning of
International Legal Subjects. To this day
no single definition of a subject of
international law has been adopted at the
level of positive international law,
delegating the definition of this concept to
the international legal doctrine. Because of
the dynamic nature of international
relations the subject of international law
becomes a relative concept which varies
from one Subject of international law to
another (Runjic, 2017).
Nonetheless, we can identify those
constitutive elements of international legal
subjectivity which are commonly accepted
by most authors, and used to define the
concept of international legal subjectivity
more clearly.
1. Legal capacity (capacita siuri dica)
– the capacity of possessing rights
and duties in accordance with the
rules of international law –
represents the main constitutive
element of international legal
personality, i.e. its possession is a
condicio sine qua non for an entity

8. 8
to be considered as a subject of
international law, or an
international legal person.
2. The capacity of an entity to
produce legal consequences on its
own (capacita sagendi) is another
constitutive although not
mandatory element of international
legal personality.
Despite, the fact that the issue of
international legal subjectivity of
INTERPOL remains on the margins of
doctrine-related debates, INTERPOL is
a de-facto international law subject and
it is acquiring legal personality on
practical ground.
First of all, INTERPOL has achieved
the right to conclude treaties
(iuscontrahendi). This right is one of
the most important elements of
international legal personality of
international organisms, although it
might be more correct to say that the
right to conclude treaties is one of the
causes for acquisition of international
legal personality of international
organisms.
Moreover, INTERPOL is also a party
to the Vienna Convention on the Law
of Treaties between States and
International Organizations or between
International Organizations of 1986.
Furthermore, INTERPOL has also
achieved an active iuslegationis. This
is substantiated by, for example, the
agreement between INTERPOL and
France regarding the Headquarters of
INTERPOL, whereby INTERPOL and
its officials are guaranteed privileges
and immunities which are to a great
extent similar to diplomatic privileges
and immunities enjoyed by diplomatic
missions of states and their diplomatic
representatives on the basis of the
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic
Relations of 1961.
For many authors, participation in the
creation of international law is one of
the most important elements of
international legal subjectivity. The
said right has been achieved by
INTERPOL, which has achieved its
participation in the creation of
international law through two main
modes of its creation – treaties and
customs.
INTERPOL has ensured its
participation in international legislation
process indirectly through states
concluding multilateral treaties at
international (diplomatic) conferences.
INTERPOL has achieved its
participation in the creation of
international law through international

9. 9
customary process as well, i.e. through
both elements necessary for the
creation of customary law – general
practice and legal consciousness
(opinioiuris).
Moreover, it is precisely in specific
resolutions of INTERPOL‟s General
Assembly, such as the 2003 Rules on
the Processing of Information for the
Purposes of International Police
Cooperation21, or the 2011 Rules on
the Processing of Information22, that
we find the so-called soft law.
Finally, INTERPOL has also achieved
delictual capacity. The notion of
delictual capacity in international law
entails the capacity of a subject of
international law to violate an
international legal obligation, i.e. to
commit an internationally wrongful act
resulting in its own international
liability.
To conclude that, with 190 member
nations, Interpol is the largest
international law enforcement agency
in the world. It conducts
intergovernmental activities, but it is
not based on an international treaty,
convention, or similar legal instrument.
It is not founded on a constitution
written by a group of police officers
who did not submit it for diplomatic
signatures, nor have they ever
submitted it for ratification by
governments. Nevertheless, the
organization received almost instant
official recognition. Governments
began applying for membership
immediately after its formation,
appointing delegates appropriating
funds for dues, and otherwise acting in
accordance with the organization's
rules and regulations. The League of
Nations, while it was in existence, gave
it de facto official recognition by
mandating to it the administration (If
the 1929 League of Nations
Convention on the Suppression of
Counterfeiting. A number of
international official bodies have
affiliated with INTEPOL, such as the
Council of Europe, the Customs
Cooperation Council, and the
International Narcotics Control
Council. The United Nations
Economic and Social Council has
granted it official status as an
intergovernmental agency A number of
international official bodies have
affiliated with INTERPOL, such as the
Council of Europe, the Customs
Cooperation Council, and the
International Narcotics Control
Council. The United Nations
Economic and Social Council has

10. 10
granted it official status as an
intergovernmental agency.
The Role of INTERPOL in World
politics and International Law
The intention is to facilitate international
police cooperation even where diplomatic
relations do not exist between particular
countries.
By doing so it is In order to successfully
fight terrorism, and other transnational
crimes, organizations need to have
information and they need to share it, in
the most timely and effective manner
possible. Committed to this view,
INTERPOL provides the tools and
services necessary to facilitate such
exchanges. In order to affect these
channels of communication, INTERPOL
provides four „core services‟ or functions.
These services are, unto themselves, “best
practices”: 1) Secure Global Police
Communications Services 2) Operational
Data Services and Databases for Police 3)
Operational Police Support Services 4)
Training and Development
INTERPOL's objectives, as described in
article 2 of its constitution, are to (1)
Ensure and promote the widest possible
mutual assistance between all police
authorities within the limits of the laws
existing in the different countries and in
the spirit of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and (2) Establish and
develop all institutions likely to contribute
effectively to the prevention and
suppression of crime. „Its activities are
limited by article 3, which states that: "It is
strictly forbidden for the Organization to
undertake any intervention or activities of
a political, military, religious or racial
character." Thus, some investigations are
considered to be outside of INTERPOL's
established mandate.
Here are some of the activities undertaken
by INTERPOL today.
1. Addressing world drug problem
The inclusive dialogue of the UN General
Assembly Special Session on the World
Drug Problem provides an opportunity to
revisit holistically the law enforcement
response to this problem, and prepare it for
future decades. This response has to be
smarter, and amidst a wider effort that
endeavours to supress transnational
organized crime, improve institutions
across the criminal justice spectrum, and
help countries uphold the rule of law and
at the heart of all this INTERPOL (Report,
2015).
Since 1960, member countries have
adopted roughly 60 INTERPOL General
Assembly Resolutions pertaining to drugs
and drug trafficking. This has helped to
guide the action of the General Secretariat

11. 11
in addressing this problem and has
provided it with a broad mandate to do so.
2. Countering Transnational
Terrorism
The changing concept of terrorism into a
more “transnational” nature has driven
police organizations to devise new means
to counter this challenge. International
police cooperation on countering
transnational terrorism is the product of
this evolution and INTERPOL is at the
heart of International police law
enforcement (Yapsan, 2012).
3. Application of Artificial
Intelligence (AI) and Robotics
for Law Enforcement
The first Global Meeting on the
Opportunities and Risks of Artificial
Intelligence (AI) and Robotics for Law
Enforcement was organized by
INTERPOL‟s Innovation Centre and the
United Nations Interregional Crime and
Justice Research Institute (UNICRI),
through its Centre for Artificial
Intelligence and Robotics, and took place
in Singapore on 11 and 12 July 2018.
These technologies are only tools, and a
tool is only as good as its user. In the
hands of criminals or terrorist groups, for
instance, AI and robotics can present new
digital, physical or even political threats.
As these technologies become more
advanced and more widely available, the
potential for application by law
enforcement agencies or misuse by
criminals is likely to increase(Anon.,
2019).
4. Crime Notification system
INTERPOL also utilizes a system of color-
coded international notices and
“diffusions” that share crime-related
information with each member country.
This information concerns individuals
wanted for serious crimes, missing
persons, unidentified bodies, possible
threats to public safety, and criminals‟
modus operandi, as described in the
following table. As of February 2009,
INTERPOL had nearly 25,000 active
notices, of which most were red. Though,
formally non-binding, red notices bestow a
“superior legitimacy” on foreign arrest
warrants that would be otherwise
disregarded.
Conclusive Evaluation the status of
Legality of INTERPOL in International
system
Because of its neutrality, consecrated in
the Constitution, almost all countries of the
world both Western and Eastern, liberal
and communist, Islamic and non-Islamic
despite their profound political divisions,
are willing to cooperate on police matters
on the assumption that Interpol‟s ends are

12. 12
not politically biased but (merely)
functionally oriented.
Red Notices and Legal Accountability
INTERPOL red notices are a manifestation
of an administrative power that is both
“soft,” because it is formally non-binding,
and “authoritative,” insofar as it has the
potential to limit personal liberty.
According to many scholars INTERPOLs
Legitimacy rest on the ability to strengthen
effective tools of governance that is almost
all the domestic decision maker‟s
specifically domestic police forces of the
world agree about the ends to pursue and
the means to employee.
Interpol Possesses the typical attributes of
an International Organization, to mention
them It has permanent institutions and
permanent headquarters secondly it has a
permanent staff having the status of
International civil servants and enjoys
international protection, thirdly despite the
dubious existence of legal duty each
member country has included in its
national budget and The financial
contributions of the member responsible
for representing it within the organization.
Lastly, formal state membership should
also be acknowledged, despite the
ambiguity of article 4 of INTERPOLs
constitution membership is attached to
state governments, rather than their police
administration units.
Despite its initial commitment not to deal
with political crimes consecrated in article
3 of the 1956 constitution, INTERPOL has
gradually broadened the Scope of its
Mandate to include terrorism and also get
wide spread recognition made INTERPOL
to be considered as an internationally
accepted law enforcement organization.
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INTELLIGENCE AND ROBOTICS FOR
LAW ENFORCEMENT, s.l.: United
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Calcara, G., 2020. Balancing International
Police Cooperation: INTERPOLand the
Undesirable Trade-of Between Rights of
Individuals and Global Security. Law
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Joensuu, Finland, 4 October.
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