Definition of treaty

The abbreviation of treaty (tiaoyue): a document signed between countries regarding political, military, economic or cultural rights and obligations.

A treaty, in a broad sense, refers to a treaty that is agreed upon between two or more countries, or between an international organization composed of countries, or between a country and an international organization. The general term for international legal documents that stipulate the relationship between their rights and obligations in the fields of politics, economy, science and technology, culture, and military affairs in accordance with international law, including treaties, treaties, conventions, agreements, protocols, exchanges of letters, charters, statutes, etc. The subject of the treaty must be a subject of international law. Modern international law and international treaty practice recognize that states and international organizations composed of states are subjects of international law, and they all have the right to make treaties. The political organizations of oppressed nationalities that are still striving for independence are also subjects of international law within a certain scope and have the right to conclude treaties. The state's power to make treaties is generally stipulated by domestic law, especially the constitution, and is usually exercised by the head of state, head of government, foreign minister or their authorized representatives. In 1969, the United Nations Conference on the Law of Treaties in Vienna adopted the Convention on the Law of Treaties, which stipulates the procedures and principles for concluding treaties.

In a narrow sense, a treaty refers to an international legal document with a specific name as a treaty. It is often a political, most important document that stipulates fundamental relationships agreed between countries. The form of its conclusion and effectiveness and The procedure is relatively grand and generally requires approval and exchange or deposit of a letter of approval. The signatory has a relatively high level and the validity period is relatively long.

A special treaty refers to an agreement between countries on special issues. Some treaties supplement existing treaties (such as political alliance treaties and military treaties), and some address special issues in international relations (such as fisheries, post and telecommunications treaties). Special agreements are usually bilateral, but they can also be multilateral.

Convention refers to international multilateral treaties related to politics, economy, culture, technology, etc. Conventions are generally open-ended and non-party states may join at any time before or after the convention enters into force. Some conventions are formulated by specialized international conferences.

An agreement generally refers to a contractual document concluded between countries, international organizations, or between countries and international organizations to solve special or temporary problems. The agreement is binding on all signatories and requires them to perform the obligations stipulated in the agreement and ensure the enjoyment of full rights. Agreements are generally divided into three parts: preamble, substantive provisions and final provisions. Agreements can be bilateral or multilateral, and the legal procedures for their conclusion and entry into force can be simpler than treaties, that is, they can take effect after signature or approval, but some agreements also need to be ratified.

Protocol refers to an international legal document agreed upon by contracting parties to interpret, supplement, modify or extend the validity of a treaty or agreement, as well as on certain technical issues. Sometimes attached to a treaty or agreement, and sometimes as an independent treaty. Sometimes a treaty that is agreed upon and signed by an international conference on a certain issue is also called a protocol.

Exchange of notes refers to the collective name of several diplomatic notes with consistent contents exchanged by two countries (or multiple countries) on matters that have been agreed upon. This kind of diplomatic note is usually issued by both parties (or multiple parties) on the same day or successively on a pre-agreed date, and it is stated in the note that the incoming and outgoing note constitutes a mutual agreement between the two (or more) countries. . An exchange of letters is generally used to supplement a formal treaty or to confirm the agreement that has been reached to deal with a particular issue. Such as the exchange of letters establishing diplomatic relations, the exchange of letters on certain matters related to the loan agreement, the exchange of letters on recognition of trademarks or trademark registration issues, etc.

Charter refers to the basic document between countries regarding an important international organization and has the nature of an international treaty. It generally stipulates the purpose, principles, organizational structure, terms of reference, proceedings, and rights and obligations of member states of the international organization. It is a type of multilateral treaty, such as the Charter of the United Nations, the Charter of the Organization of American States, and the Organization of African Unity. Charter" etc.

The entry into force and invalidation of a treaty

The entry into force of a treaty means that the treaty becomes binding on the contracting states.

The method and date of entry into force depend on the provisions of the treaty or the agreement of the contracting parties. There are approximately three ways for a bilateral treaty to enter into force: 1. It shall be effective from the date of signature or the date specified and no approval or exchange of approvals is required. Such treaties are mostly economic, trade, technical cooperation or cultural agreements. 2. It will take effect from the date of approval by both parties and no exchange of approval letters is required. If the two contracting parties ratify the treaty on the same day, the treaty will enter into force on that day; if the dates are different, it will enter into force from the date of the last notification of ratification by one of the contracting parties. 3. Effective from the date of exchange of approval letters. The entry into force of boundary treaties of significant, political or permanent nature usually takes this approach. Some multilateral treaties require ratification by all signatories before they come into effect, while others only require a certain number of countries or specific countries to submit instruments of ratification. For example, the 1945 Charter of the United Nations was adopted by China, France, the Soviet Union, Britain, and the United States. It will take effect once a majority of the other signatories deposit their instruments of ratification with the United States.

The treaty loses effect on the contracting states, that is, the termination of the treaty creates rights and obligations for the contracting states. According to international practice, treaties generally expire under the following circumstances: 1. The treaty expires. Many treaties stipulate a validity period. If there is no provision for extending the validity period, the treaty will become invalid upon expiration. 2. The State party agreed to its repeal. A treaty that has no time limit or has a time limit that has not yet expired may be abrogated by unanimous consent of all contracting states. 3. Canceling or withdrawing from a contract. If the treaty itself is an unequal treaty that is invalid from the beginning, or if one of the parties to a bilateral treaty violates the main obligations of the treaty, the other contracting party has the right to abrogate the treaty. If one of the parties to a multilateral treaty violates the main obligations of the treaty, the other parties have the right to unanimously agree to terminate the treaty in its relations with the breaching party or among all parties. Treaties can also be abrogated in the event of a "change of circumstances". A bilateral treaty shall become invalid immediately upon withdrawal by one of the contracting parties. A multilateral treaty becomes invalid for that country if it withdraws from it. 4． The treaty has been implemented and will become invalid even if it has not expired. Such as an agreement regarding compensation or debt. However, treaties whose purpose is to establish a permanent state of affairs, such as delimitation treaties, etc., will not expire after their execution. 5. Enforcement of the treaty was impossible. If the subject matter of the treaty ceases to exist, the treaty shall cease to exist. 6. Establishment of conditions for rescission of treaty. Some treaties expressly stipulate the conditions for rescission of the treaty. Once the conditions for rescission are met, the treaty will become invalid. 7. If a treaty is partially modified, the modified part will become invalid; if it is fully modified, the original treaty will become invalid because it is replaced by a new treaty. 8. The outbreak of war often invalidates treaties between belligerents, except for treaties on the laws of war. The severance of diplomatic or consular relations in peacetime does not automatically invalidate a treaty. The cessation of the implementation of a treaty does not mean that the treaty has expired.

Accession to a treaty

Accession to a treaty is one of the ways to become a party. It means that a country that has not signed a multilateral treaty can become a party by signing within a certain period of time after the treaty is officially signed. party to the treaty. Usually applies to open-ended treaties. Some allow non-signatory countries to join unconditionally, such as the 1949 Geneva Convention on the Protection of War Victims. Some restrictions are within a certain range or subject to certain conditions. For example, the North Atlantic Treaty stipulates that only European countries can join with the unanimous consent and invitation of the contracting states. The procedure for joining is that the acceding country notifies the depositary of the treaty in writing (when joining a treaty initiated by the United Nations, the notification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations), and the depositary shall forward it to the other contracting states. The time when a treaty enters into force for a party acceding to it depends on the provisions of the treaty itself. Some provisions take effect from the date of deposit of the instrument of accession; some provisions take effect after a certain period of time after the deposit of the instrument of accession. Non-open treaties can only be joined with the consent of all contracting states.

Initializing a treaty

A simple form of signing before a treaty is formally signed. It usually does not have the same legal effect as a formal signature and only constitutes authentication of the text of the treaty. Initialing is usually used when the contracting parties intend to sign the treaty after a period of time after the conclusion of treaty negotiations. After the initialing of the treaty, it must be followed by formal signature. Only the official signature date can be regarded as the date when the country concerned becomes a signatory to the treaty.

Reservation to a treaty

Reservation to a treaty refers to a unilateral statement made by a country when signing, ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to a treaty, with the purpose of excluding or excluding the treaty The legal effects of certain provisions in this country when they are applied to the country. The issue of reservations arises only in multilateral treaties. According to the principle of national sovereignty, any country can make reservations, except in the following circumstances: reservations are prohibited by the treaty itself; the treaty only permits specific reservations and other provisions are not included; or reservations are incompatible with the object and purpose of the treaty. The effect of a reservation is that, unless the treaty otherwise provides, if the reservation is accepted by another contracting State, the reserving State becomes a party to the treaty as far as that contracting State is concerned, provided that the treaty has entered into force for those States; If a reservation is opposed by another contracting state, the treaty will not be ineffective between the objecting state and the defending state, unless the objecting state clearly expresses the opposite intention; when a state formulates a reservation, as long as at least one other contracting state has If a State accepts the reservation, it becomes valid; if a State does not object to the reservation within 12 months after receiving notification from the reserving State, or until the date when it expresses its consent to be bound by the treaty, the reservation is deemed to be valid. has been accepted by that State; for a reservation established by another State Party, in the relationship between the reserving State and that other State Party, the treaty provisions covered by the reservation may be modified within the scope of the reservation, while between the other parties , this reservation does not affect the provisions of the treaty; if the country that objects to the reservation does not object to the entry into force of the treaty between that country and the reserving country, only the provisions of the reservation will not apply between the two countries. If a reservation is expressly authorized by a treaty, subsequent acceptance by the other contracting states is not required. Unless otherwise provided, reservations and objections to reservations may be withdrawn at any time. Reservations, express acceptance and objections to reservations must be made in writing and sent to the contracting states and other states entitled to become parties to the treaty; withdrawal of reservations or objections to reservations must also be made in writing.

Safety of treaties

The custody of treaties refers to the preservation of the original treaty. Each contracting state shall keep a copy of the text of a bilateral treaty. For multilateral treaties, the original shall be deposited with the depositary specified in the treaty. According to the provisions of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the depositary authority of a treaty shall be determined in the treaty or otherwise. The depositary can be one country or several countries, or it can be an international organization or the person in charge of the organization. Generally speaking, when a treaty is signed in a certain country, the original treaty will be kept by that country. Instruments of ratification and accession to a treaty are generally deposited with the country that keeps the original treaty or with the agency stipulated in the treaty. The main duties of the depository include: keeping the original treaty; preparing official copies of the treaty and distributing them to relevant countries; accepting the signature of the treaty, accepting and keeping documents, notifications and official documents related to the treaty; Notify relevant countries of matters such as , acceptance, and accession; register treaties with the United Nations Secretariat, etc.

Registration of treaties

Registration of treaties means that a United Nations member state or a non-member state submits the treaties concluded between itself and other countries to the United Nations Secretariat for registration, filing and recording, and then announced. Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations stipulates that if a treaty is not registered, a party to the treaty may not invoke the treaty in any body of the United Nations. However, this does not affect the legal validity of the treaty. The texts of all registered, archived and filed treaties will be published by the Secretariat in the United Nations Treaty Collection in their original languages, with English and French translations attached. Non-member states of the United Nations may also submit treaties concluded between their country and other countries to the United Nations Secretariat for registration.

Interpretation of a treaty

Interpretation of a treaty refers to the explanation of the meaning, content and applicable conditions of the treaty as a whole or individual provisions. In principle, only contracting states have the authority to interpret treaties. Disagreements on the interpretation of treaties are usually resolved through diplomatic channels. After the contracting parties reach an agreement on the interpretation of a treaty, they often record it in the form of an "interpretative protocol" or an exchange of letters, or issue an "interpretative declaration." The interpretation of multilateral treaties is subject to international conferences held by the contracting parties for consultation and the conclusion of supplementary protocols to the relevant treaties. When an agreement cannot be reached, international arbitration or international judicial methods can be used to resolve the dispute with the consent of all parties concerned. Some multilateral treaties stipulate provisions on treaty interpretation and procedures for resolving interpretation disputes.

When issues involving treaty interpretation are encountered within the scope of the United Nations, the International Court of Justice is usually asked to issue an advisory opinion. The 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties stipulates that a treaty shall be interpreted in good faith with reference to its object and purpose, faithfully in accordance with the context of the terms of the treaty, and in accordance with the ordinary meaning of the treaty text. If a treaty is written in two or more languages, it is generally stipulated that a certain language should be used as the basis in case of differences in interpretation.

Signing of a treaty

Signing a treaty is a way of expressing the agreement of a contracting state to be bound by the treaty. Usually held at the end of negotiations to make a treaty or at the end of a treaty-making conference. However, some treaties, especially international conventions, also stipulate that the treaty must be signed by the various countries listed in the treaty at a certain time and place after the conference that formulated the treaty. Signatories to the treaty, except for the head of state, head of government, and foreign minister, must hold credentials proving the authorization of the government or country. If a treaty stipulates that it takes effect from the date of signature without the need for ratification or other legal procedures, the signature of the treaty confirms the consent of each signatory state to be bound by the treaty; if a treaty stipulates that ratification, approval or other procedures are required for the treaty to enter into force Legal procedures must be followed before the treaty can come into effect. The signature of the treaty qualifies the signatory country to subsequently re-examine the treaty and decide whether to ratify it, and constitutes certification of the text of the treaty.

The procedure for concluding a treaty

The procedure for concluding a treaty refers to the entire process of signing a treaty between countries. Generally includes negotiation, signature, approval and exchange of approval letters. 1. negotiation. Refers to the process of negotiation between countries on matters such as the content and conclusion of a treaty. With the exception of heads of state, heads of government and foreign ministers, it is usually necessary to check at the outset whether representatives have full authority to negotiate treaties. The results of the negotiations were formulated into a formal text agreed upon by both parties. Multilateral treaty negotiations are conducted through international conferences, and draft treaties are submitted to the conference for adoption. An international treaty concluded within the scope of the United Nations, the text of which is adopted by the United Nations General Assembly or a diplomatic conference convened specifically for this purpose. After the negotiation is over and the agreement is drafted, it can be initialed by the negotiator. 2． signature. It refers to the signature of a representative authorized to sign a treaty on the official text of the treaty to express the agreement of the contracting parties to be bound by the treaty. Before signing a bilateral treaty, representatives of both contracting states shall read the signed credentials to each other, while multilateral treaties shall be reviewed by a Credentials Review Committee composed of representatives of the contracting states. General treaties come into effect from the date of signature and do not require ratification or other procedures. When international conventions are concluded within the scope of an international organization, they sometimes do not go through the traditional procedure of signature. Instead, according to the organizational documents of the organization, the competent authority drafts the convention and directly sends it to all countries for review and approval. 3． approve. Refers to the final confirmation of a treaty signed by a state's competent authority by its representatives. According to the constitutions and practices of various countries, the person with the power to ratify treaties is generally the head of state or the parliament. Sometimes the head of state approves based on the resolution of the parliament. Some treaties may be subject to simple ratification, i.e. approval by the government. Generally speaking, states are not obliged to ratify treaties signed by their representatives. In addition to ratification, a country can also use new methods such as acceptance and approval to express its consent to be bound by a treaty. 4． Exchange approval letters. After a bilateral treaty is ratified, instruments of ratification are usually exchanged. For multilateral treaties, the instrument of ratification must be deposited with the custodian specified in the treaty who is responsible for the safekeeping of the instrument of ratification. Unless otherwise provided, a bilateral treaty shall enter into force on the date of the exchange of instruments of ratification. The entry into force of a multilateral treaty requires the deposit of instruments of ratification by all or a certain number of signatories.