Article Outline
Treaty, in international law, written agreement concluded by two or more sovereign nations or by a nation and an international organization, such as the European Union. The power to enter into treaty relations is an essential attribute of sovereignty. The principle that treaties validly concluded are binding on the signatories, who must adhere to them in good faith, is a cardinal rule of international law.
The usual conditions essential to the valid conclusion of a treaty are that the contracting parties must have the requisite capacity to enter into international engagements, the plenipotentiaries who negotiate the treaty must be properly authorized, and freedom of consent on the part of the signatory powers must exist. It is now recognized that a treaty is void if its conclusion has been procured by the threat or use of force in violation of the principles of international law embodied in the United Nations Charter (see United Nations).
Peace treaties concluded after the cessation of hostilities were usually considered not to be void because of the preceding warfare. Nevertheless, in 1932 the U.S. established a policy not to recognize any treaty or agreement brought about by means contrary to the Kellogg-Briand Pact. This principle, known as the Stimson Doctrine, was adopted by the League of Nations. Similar principles were included in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.
On the international level, the scope of the treaty-making power of a state is practically unlimited. It includes the acquisition of foreign territory, the cession of domestic territory, the delimitation and rectification of boundaries, the promise of mutual assistance, the guarantee of foreign investments, and the extradition of persons accused or convicted of crimes. Treaties may be of a law-making character and of a multilateral nature, such as the conventions on the law of the sea and on the privileges and immunities of diplomatic missions and their staff. Multilateral treaties are also the basis for the establishment of international organizations and the determination of their individual functions and powers.
Many treaties can be classified as either political or commercial agreements. Political treaties may relate to mutual defense in case of armed attack; to guarantees of a particular status, such as neutrality; or to the preservation of existing boundaries. Treaties of alliance that promised mutual support in the event of war are no longer valid to the extent that they violate the UN Charter. Commercial treaties usually provide mutual economic advantage, such as reduced tariffs on the imported products of the parties to the agreement. In modern times such treaties often contain a clause stipulating that each signatory will extend to every other signatory treatment equally favorable to that accorded to any other nation (the most-favored-nation clause). The most important multilateral treaty of that type is the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The national treatment clause in commercial treaties assures equal treatment to the nationals of each signatory to the agreement. Another class of treaties provides for the submission of disputes to arbitration by special tribunals or to the adjudication of disputes by institutions such as the Permanent Court of Arbitration or the International Court of Justice.
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