Glossary of Treaty Terminology

The Fine Print
Glossary of Treaty Terminology

Quotations are from the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 23 May 1969.

treaty: "an international agreement concluded between States in written form and governed by international law, whether embodied in a single instrument or in two or more related instruments and whatever its particular designation" (Article 2, paragraph 1[f]).
party: a State which has consented to be bound by the treaty and for which the treaty is in force (Article 2, paragraph 1[g]).
plenipotentiary: a person (esp. a diplomat) invested with the full power of independent action.
date of acceptance: when a state becomes a party to a treaty; may mean either by "signature subject to acceptance" (analogous to ratification) or by acceptance without prior signature (analogous to accession). The text of the treaty usually establishes which meaning of "acceptance" is meant.
date of accession: when a state becomes a party to a treaty of which it is not a signatory. The right of accession is independent of the entry into force of the treaty; that is, a state may accede to a treaty which has not yet entered into force.
date of adoption: when states participating in the negotiation of a treaty agree on its final form and content. This usually occurs before signature.
date of denunciation: when a state expresses that it is no longer willing to be bound by a treaty.
date of entry into force: when a treaty becomes binding upon the states which have expressed their willingness to be bound by it. This is usually triggered by a clause in the text of the treaty saying something like "this treaty shall enter into force when n states have signed it ..."
date of ratification: when a state makes a final formal expression of its consent to be bound by a treaty. This usually occurs after signature.
date of reservations: when a state makes "a unilateral statement, however phrased or named, ... , when signing, ratifying, 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" (Article 2, paragraph 1[d]). Important note: the United Nations Treaty Database contains information about national reservations to particular treaties.
date of signature: when a state expresses its consent to be bound by a treaty. Such consent is expressed "when (a) the treaty provides that signature shall have that effect; (b) it is otherwise established that the negotiating States were agreed that signature should have that effect; or (c) the intention of the State to give that effect to the signature appears from the full powers of its representative or was expressed during the negotiation."
date of succession: when a newly constituted state becomes a party to a treaty by expressing its willingness to be bound by international agreements that were entered into by a predecessor state or states. E.g. Russia might state its willingness to be bound by treaties entered into by the former Soviet Union.

Originally compiled by Mats Söderström for CAR/RCU.

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