In most international organizations there is a certain level of trust that basic commitments are being met by the member states. Disarmament organizations,1 however, form a special case: they are often seen as subject to the motto ‘trust, but verify’ in ways that do not quite apply to others. This means that within disarmament organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), different legal issues arise when compared to other organizations, rendering them of great theoretical importance in addition to their undoubted social relevance.

The focus of this chapter is on organizational efforts to regulate, supervise, control and possibly eliminate weapons of mass destruction (WMD).