Bretton Woods Institutions: Their Evolution and Impacts on the Field of International Economic Law

Abstract

The world economic depression brought about by the effect of 1^st World War (1913- 1918), the beginning of the 2^nd World War (1918) and the inability of the so called world super powers to salvage the economic predicaments at that time, necessitated the demand for ‘a set of multilateral institutions’ to rebuild, to provide a safety net, and to structure the postwar economy. With this vision at heart, a meeting held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in July 1944 spearheaded by the big nations (United States and United Kingdom) founded the IMF(International Monetary Fund), the IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) later called (the World Bank), and the  ITO (International Trade Organization) later replaced by GATT and WTO. Thus, these institutions are popularly known as the Bretton Woods Institutions. Therefore, this article aims to examine the concept “Bretton Woods Institutions”: What are they all about and how they work; The institutional objectives and the goals sought to be achieved; the impacts of the institutions to the development of the discipline “International Economic Law” as well as the criticisms against the operational mechanisms of the institutions will also be looked into.

Keywords: IMF, World Bank, International Economic Law