The legal regime of international and regional economic
organizations is represented by the whole body of rules
contained in and derived from constituent instruments and
constitutive acts adopted by these organizations within
the framework of international law.
Most normative rules of regional economic organizations
have been formulated by international organizations with
universal participation, such as the United Nations and
its specialized agencies of economic and financial nature,
such as IMF and IBRD. Many regional economic organizations
such as UN regional economic commissions are thus formed
as the UN subsidiary organs to operate under the direction
of the Economic and Social Council. Other inter-
governmental organizations, such as WTO, play similar role
in promoting and regulating international and regional
economic development and cooperation.