Checks and Balances in the Law of International Organizations

In the spring of 2006, a political discussion of sorts arose within the European Forest Institue (EFI), a fairly small but highly atypical international organization devoted to forest-ry research and headquartered in Joensuu, Finland. The EFI, set up in its present form in 2003, aimed to establish a branch office in one of its member states, and the inevitable question arose: which of the organs is competent to make that decision? Should that be the plenary body, in which all member states are represented? Or, would a decision by the executive organ be sufficient? Should it be the both of them acting together? Or could it be either one, acting autonomously? In other words: what role does autonomy play in relations between organs of an international organization, and to what extent do checks and balances exist governing those relations?