Office of International Standards and Legal Affairs

Last update:12 December 2024

The Office of International Standards and Legal Affairs is a corporate service reporting directly to the Director-General.

Our responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Office are:

to provide legal advice to the General Conference, the Executive Board and various meetings convened by UNESCO and to all the intergovernmental bodies established by the General Conference and the Executive Board and those established for the implementation of the conventions;
to provide legal advice on questions arising for the Organization and concerning its Constitution, statutory texts and regulations, its privileges and immunities;
to provide advice on the conclusion and application of agreements with Member States or other organizations and on contracts to which the Organization is a party;
to represent the Organization before the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organization and other international tribunals or dispute resolution boards;
to assist in the drawing up and application of international standard-setting instruments and to exercise depository functions of the Director-General in relation to international treaties; and
to serve as the secretariat of the Committee on Conventions and Recommendations of the Executive Board and of the Legal Committee of the General Conference acting also as credentials committee.

The Office of International Standards and Legal Affairs aims at protecting the Organization’s interests along two main lines:

Ensuring compliance with the Organization’s rules, regulations and procedures;
Pursuing improvements in the legal safety of activities carried out by the Organization.

Mr Santiago VILLALPANDO
UNESCO Legal Adviser
Director of the Office of International Standards and Legal Affairs

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Office of the Director (LA/DIR)

Mr Julien BOISSISE, Legal Officer

Ms Hairiat MOHAMED, Senior Legal Secretary

Section of Conventions and Recommendations (LA/CR)

Mr Guillermo TRASANCOS, Chief of Section, Senior Legal Officer

Mr Jean-Christophe BADAROUX-MENDIETA, Legal Officer

Mr Martin BRESKVAR, Associate Legal Officer

Section of International Administrative Law (LA/AL)

Mr Fabrizio MASTROGIROLAMO, Chief of Section, Senior Legal Officer

Mr Alexandre DEGANIS, Legal Officer

Mr Alvaro Felipe ROJAS CEBALLOS, Legal Officer

Ms Brenda COSTECALDE ORPINEDA, Associate Legal Officer

Ms Marie-José DELGADO, Secretary

Section of General Legal Affairs (LA/GL)

Ms Chantal CLAXTON-PROUST, Chief of Section, Senior Legal Officer

Ms Asoid GARCIA-MARQUEZ, Legal Officer

Ms Tineke BAIRD, Legal Officer

Ms Agnieszka Maria MARTIN, Legal Officer

Ms Hélia FARINHO FERREIRA, Documentalist