Treaties

Treaties are known by a variety of termsconventions, agreements, pacts, general acts, charters, and
covenantsall of which signify written instruments in which the participants (usually but not always states)
agree to be bound by the negotiated terms. Some agreements are governed by municipal law (e.g.,
commercial accords between states and international enterprises), in which case international law is
inapplicable. Informal, nonbinding political statements or declarations are excluded from the category of
treaties.

Treaties may be bilateral or multilateral. Treaties with a number of parties are more likely to have
international significance, though many of the most important treaties (e.g., those emanating from Strategic
Arms Limitation Talks) have been bilateral. A number of contemporary treaties, such as the Geneva
Conventions (1949) and the Law of the Sea treaty (1982; formally the United Nations Convention on the Law
of the Sea), have more than 150 parties to them, reflecting both their importance and the evolution of the
treaty as a method of general legislation in international law. Other significant treaties include the Convention
on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948), the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic
Relations (1961), the Antarctic Treaty (1959), and the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal
Court (1998). Whereas some treaties create international organizations and provide their constitutions (e.g.,
the UN Charter of 1945), others deal with more mundane issues (e.g., visa regulations, travel arrangements,
and bilateral economic assistance).
Countries that do not sign and ratify a treaty are not bound by its provisions. Nevertheless, treaty provisions
may form the basis of an international custom in certain circumstances, provided that the provision in question
is capable of such generalization or is of a fundamentally norm-creating character, as the ICJ termed the
process in the North Sea Continental Shelf cases (1969). A treaty is based on the consent of the parties to it, is
binding, and must be executed in good faith. The concept known by the Latin formula pacta sunt
servanda (agreements must be kept) is arguably the oldest principle of international law. Without such a
rule, no international agreement would be binding or enforceable. Pacta sunt servanda is directly referred to
in many international agreements governing treaties, including the Vienna Convention on the Law of
Treaties (1969), which concerns treaties between states, and the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
Between States and International Organizations or Between International Organizations (1986).
There is no prescribed form or procedure for making or concluding treaties. They may be drafted between
heads of state or between government departments. The most crucial element in the conclusion of a treaty is
the signaling of the states consent, which may be done by signature, an exchange of instruments, ratification,
or accession. Ratification is the usual method of declaring consentunless the agreement is a low-level one,
in which case a signature is usually sufficient. Ratification procedures vary, depending on the countrys
constitutional structure.

Treaties may allow signatories to opt out of a particular provision, a tactic that enables countries that accept
the basic principles of a treaty to become a party to it even though they may have concerns
about peripheral issues. These concerns are referred to as reservations, which are distinguished from
interpretative declarations, which have no binding effect. States may make reservations to a treaty where the
treaty does not prevent doing so and provided that the reservation is not incompatible with the treatys object
and purpose. Other states may accept or object to such reservations. In the former case, the treaty as modified
by the terms of the reservations comes into force between the states concerned. In the latter case, the treaty
comes into force between the states concerned except for the provisions to which the reservations relate and
to the extent of the reservations. An obvious defect of this system is that each government determines
whether the reservations are permissible, and there can be disagreement regarding the legal consequences if
a reservation is deemed impermissible.
A set of rules to interpret treaties has evolved. A treaty is expected to be interpreted in good faith and in
accordance with the ordinary meanings of its terms, given the context, object, and purpose of the treaty.
Supplementary means of interpretation, including the use of travaux prparatoires (French: preparatory
works) and consideration of the circumstances surrounding the conclusion of the treaty, may be used when
the treatys text is ambiguous. In certain cases, a more flexible method of treaty interpretation, based on the
principle of effectiveness (i.e., an interpretation that would not allow the provision in question to be rendered
useless) coupled with a broader-purposes approach (i.e., taking into account the basic purposes of the treaty
in interpreting a particular provision), has been adopted. Where the treaty is also the constitutional document
of an international organization, a more programmatic or purpose-oriented approach is used in order to assist
the organization in coping with change. A purpose-oriented approach also has been deemed appropriate for
what have been described as living instruments, such as human rights treaties that establish an
implementation system; in the case of the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950, this approach has
allowed the criminalization of homosexuality to be regarded as a violation of human rights in the
contemporary period despite the fact that it was the norm when the treaty itself was signed.

A treaty may be terminated or suspended in accordance with one of its provisions (if any exist) or by the
consent of the parties. If neither is the case, other provisions may become relevant. If a material breach of a
bilateral treaty occurs, the innocent party may invoke that breach as a ground for terminating the treaty or
suspending its operation. The termination of multilateral treaties is more complex. By unanimous agreement,
all the parties may terminate or suspend the treaty in whole or in part, and a party specially affected by a
breach may suspend the agreement between itself and the defaultingstate. Any other party may suspend
either the entire agreement or part of it in cases where the treaty is such that a material breach will radically
change the position of every party with regard to its obligations under the treaty. The ICJ, for example, issued
an advisory opinion in 1971 that regarded as legitimate the General Assemblys termination of
the mandate for South West Africa. A breach of a treaty is generally regarded as material if there is an
impermissible repudiation of the treaty or if there is a violation of a provision essential to the treatys object
or purpose.
The concept of rebus sic stantibus (Latin: things standing thus) stipulates that, where there has been a
fundamental change of circumstances, a party may withdraw from or terminate the treaty in question. An
obvious example would be one in which a relevant island has become submerged. A fundamental change of
circumstances, however, is not sufficient for termination or withdrawal unless the existence of the original
circumstances was an essential basis of the consent of the parties to be bound by the treaty and the change
radically transforms the extent of obligations still to be performed. This exception does not apply if the treaty
establishes a boundary or if the fundamental change is the result of a breach by the party invoking it of an
obligation under the treaty or of any other international obligation owed to any other party to the treaty.

General principles of law

A third source of international law identified by the ICJs statute is the general principles of law recognized
by civilized nations. These principles essentially provide a mechanism to address international issues not
already subject either to treaty provisions or to binding customary rules. Such general principles may arise
either through municipal law or through international law, and many are in fact procedural or evidential
principles or those that deal with the machinery of the judicial processe.g., the principle, established
in Chorzow Factory (192728), that the breach of an engagement involves an obligation to make reparation.
Accordingly, in the Chorzow Factory case, Poland was obliged to pay compensation to Germany for the illegal
expropriation of a factory.
Perhaps the most important principle of international law is that of good faith. It governs the creation and
performance of legal obligations and is the foundation of treaty law. Another important general principle is
that of equity, which permits international law to have a degree of flexibility in its application and
enforcement. The Law of the Sea treaty, for example, called for the delimitation on the basis of equity of
exclusive economic zones and continental shelves between states with opposing or adjacent coasts.
Other sources
Article 38 (1) of the ICJs statute also recognizes judicial decisions and scholarly writings as subsidiary means
for the determination of the law. Both municipal and international judicial decisions can serve to establish
new principles and rules. In municipal cases, international legal rules can become clear through their
consistent application by the courts of a number of states. A clearer method of law determination, however,
is constituted by the international judicial decisions of bodies such as the ICJ at The Hague, the UN
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea at Hamburg (Germany), and international arbitral tribunals.
International law can arise indirectly through other mechanisms. UN General Assembly resolutions, for
example, are not bindingexcept with respect to certain organizational proceduresbut they can be
extremely influential. Resolutions may assist in the creation of new customary rules, both in terms of state
practice and in the process of establishing a custom by demonstrating the acceptance by states of the
practice as law (the opinio juris). For this to occur, a resolution must contain generalizable provisions and
attract substantial support from countries with diverse ideological, cultural, and political perspectives.
Examples of such resolutions include the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries
and Peoples (1960), the Declaration on the Legal Principles Governing Activities of States in the Exploration
and Use of Outer Space (1963), and the Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly
Relations and Co-operation among States (1970).

Unilateral actions by a state may give rise to legal obligations when it is clear that the state intends to be
bound by the obligation and when its intention is publicly announced. An example of such a case was
Frances decision to stop atmospheric nuclear testing during litigation at the ICJ between it and Australia
and New Zealand (1974) concerning the legality of such testing. Unilateral statements also
may constitute evidence of a states views on a particular issue. Even when an instrument or document does
not entail a legal obligation, it may be influential within the international community. The Helsinki
Accords (1975), which attempted to reduce tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States during
the Cold War, was expressly not binding but had immense political effects. In certain areas, such
as environmental law and economic law, a range of recommendations, guidelines, codes of practice, and
standards may produce what is termed soft lawthat is, an instrument that has no strict legal value
but constitutes an important statement.

Hierarchies of sources and norms

General principles are complementary to treaty law and custom. Sources that are of more recent origin are
generally accepted as more authoritative, and specific rules take precedence over general rules. Jus
cogens (Latin: compelling law) rules are peremptory norms that cannot be deviated from by states; they
possess a higher status than jus dispositivum (Latin: law subject to the dispensation of the parties), or
normal international rules, and can be altered only by subsequent norms of the same status. Rules in the
former category include the prohibitions against genocide, slavery, and piracy and the outlawing of
aggression. Other examples of jus cogens rules are more controversial. The Vienna Convention on the Law of
Treaties provides (Article 53) that a treaty will be void if, at the time of its conclusion, it conflicts with a
peremptory norm of general international law. Further, the wrongfulness of a state action is precluded if the
act is required by a peremptory norm of general international law. For a jus cogens norm to be created, the
principle must first be established as a rule of international law and then recognized by the international
community as a peremptory rule of law from which no derogation is permitted.
International law also has established a category of erga omnes (Latin: toward all) obligations, which apply
to all states. Whereas in ordinary obligations the defaulting state bears responsibility toward particular
interested states (e.g., other parties to the treaty that has been breached), in the breach of erga
omnes obligations, all states have an interest and may take appropriate actions in response.