Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties between States and International Organizations

 

 

PART I
INTRODUCTION

Article 1

Scope of the present Convention

The present Convention applies to:

(a) treaties between one or more States and one or more international
organizations, and

(b) treaties between international organizations.

Article 2

Use of terms

1. For the purposes of the present Convention:

(a) “treaty” means an international agreement governed by
international law and concluded in written form:

(i) between one or more States and one or more international
organizations; or

(ii) between international organizations,

whether that agreement is embodied in a single instrument or in two or
more related instruments and whatever its particular designation;

(b) “ratification”means the international act so named whereby a
State establishes on the international plane its consent to be bound by a
treaty;

(b bis) “act of formal confirmation”means an international act
corresponding to that of ratification by a State, whereby an
international organization establishes on the international plane its
consent to be bound by a treaty;

(b ter) “acceptance”, “approval”and “accession”mean in each case the
international act so named whereby a State or an international
organization establishes on the international plane its consent to be
bound by a treaty;

(c) “full powers”means a document emanating from the competent
authority of a State or from the competent organ of an international
organization designating a person or persons to represent the State or
the organization for negotiating, adopting or authenticating the text of
a treaty, for expressing the consent of the State or of the organization
to be bound by a treaty, or for accomplishing any other act with respect
to a treaty;

(d) “reservation”means a unilateral statement, however phrased or
named, made by a State or by an international organization when signing,
ratifying, formally confirming, accepting, approving or acceding to a
treaty, whereby it purports to exclude or to modify the legal effect of
certain provisions of the treaty in their application to that State or to
that organization;

(e) “negotiating State”and “negotiating organization”mean
respectively:

(i) a State, or
(ii) an international organization,

which took part in the drawing up and adoption of the text of the treaty;

(f) “contracting State”and “contracting organization”mean
respectively:

(i) a State, or
(ii) an international organization,

which has consented to be bound by the treaty, whether or not the treaty
has entered into force;

(g) “party” means a State or an international organization which has
consented to be bound by the treaty and for which the treaty is in force;

(h) “third State”and “third organization”mean respectively:

(i) a State, or
(ii) an international organization,

not a party to the treaty;

(i) “international organization”means an intergovernmental
organization;

(j) “rules of the organization”means, in particular, the constituent
instruments, decisions and resolutions adopted in accordance with them,
and established practice of the organization.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 regarding the use of terms in the
present Convention are without prejudice to the use of those terms or to
the meanings which may be given to them in the internal law of any State
or in the rules of any international organization.

Article 3

International agreements not within the scope
of the present Convention

The fact that the present Convention does not apply:

(i) to international agreements to which one or more States, one
or more international organizations and one or more subjects
of international law other than States or organizations are
parties;

(ii) to international agreements to which one or more
international organizations and one or more subjects of
international law other than States or organizations are
parties;

(iii) to international agreements not in written form between one
or more States and one or more international organizations,
or between international organizations; or

(iv) to international agreements between subjects of international
law other than States or international organizations;

shall not affect:

(a) the legal force of such agreements;

(b) the application to them of any of the rules set forth in the
present Convention to which they would be subject under international law
independently of the Convention;

(c) the application of the Convention to the relations between States
and international organizations or to the relations of organizations as
between themselves, when those relations are governed by international
agreements to which other subjects of international law are also parties.

Article 4

Non-retroactivity of the present Convention

Without prejudice to the application of any rules set forth in the
present Convention to which treaties between one or more States and one
or more international organizations or between international
organizations would be subject under international law independently of
the Convention, the Convention applies only to such treaties concluded
after the entry into force of the present Convention with regard to those
States and those organizations.

Article 5

Treaties constituting international organizations and
treaties adopted within an international organization

The present Convention applies to any treaty between one or more
States and one or more international organizations which is the
constituent instrument of an international organization and to any treaty
adopted within an international organization, without prejudice to any
relevant rules of the organization.

 

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Conventions: Chronological Index 1971-1990, Treaties. Bibliography and links.