Rise and Fall of a Treaty or The Law of Treaties

Rise and Fall of a Treaty
or
The Law of Treaties
Mr. Gian Maria Farnelli
International Law Course
University of Bologna
24-26 March 2014
Structure of lectures
• Spawning considerations
• Pacta sunt servanda
• The 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (‘VCLT’)
• Birth of a treaty
•
•
•
•
•
Negotiation
Adoption
Signature/Ratification
Entry into force
Registration/Publication
• Life of a treaty
•
•
•
•
Reservations
Interpretation/Application
Suspension
Validity
• Death of a treaty
• Termination
Spawning considerations
• Pacta sunt servanda
• The 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (‘VCLT’)
•
•
•
•
•
1935 Harvard Draft Articles on the Law of Treaties
1966 ILC Draft Articles on the Law of Treaties
22 May 1969
27 January 1980
Is it customary law?
Birth of a treaty
• Negotiation
• Conference
• Full powers (art. 7 VCLT)
• Adoption
• Signature/Ratification
• Articles 2, 11-14 VCLT
• Art. 15 VCLT
• Registration/Publication
• Art. 102 UN Charter
Life of a treaty 1
• Reservations
• Customary or conventional law?
• Universality vs. Integrity of treaties
• Utile per inutile non vitiatus
• Interpretation/Application
• Text, context and object and purpose (art. 31 VCLT)
• Supplementary means (art. 32 VCLT)
• Multilanguage treaties (art. 33 VCLT)
Life of a treaty 2
• Suspension (to be invoked)
•
•
•
•
•
Agreement of the parties (articles 57-58 VCLT)
Incompatible treaty (art. 59 VCLT)
Inadimplenti non adimplendum est clause (art. 60 VCLT)
Force majeur clause (art. 61 VCLT)
Proper rebus sic stantibus clause (art. 62 VCLT)
• Validity
• Voidability (ex nunc)
•
•
•
•
Breach of domestic rule (art. 46 VCLT)
Error (art. 47 VCLT)
Fraud (art. 48 VCLT)
Corruption (art. 49 VCLT)
• Voidness (ex tunc)
• Excess of authority (art. 8 VCLT)
• Coercion (articles 51-52 VCLT)
• Jus cogens (art. 53 VCLT)
Death of a treaty
• Termination
• Condition
• Term
• Grounds of suspension
•
•
•
•
Incompatible treaty (art. 59 VCLT)
Inadimplenti non adimplendum est clause (art. 60 VCLT)
Force majeur clause (art. 61 VCLT)
Proper rebus sic stantibus clause (art. 62 VCLT)
• Denunciation/withdrawl