TREATY RESEARCH

The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties defines a treaty as "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." A treaty may be called a convention, a protocol, an accord, a pact, or a charter. As long as the document fulfills the definition above, it is a treaty.

A treaty can be between 2 nations (bilateral) or among several nations (multilateral). A treaty is usually binding only on the parties to the treaty. Circumstances may exist under which non-parties to a treaty can agree to be bound by the terms of the treaty (see e.g. Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, Articles 35-36).

TREATY CREATION

The steps involved in the creation of a treaty are: negotiation, signing, ratification, and publication.

• Negotiation: Authorized representatives from the nations involved meet to work out the terms of the agreement. In the U.S. , this task is generally assigned to the Secretary of State, ambassadors, or diplomats, rather than the President. (move to In the United States below)
• Signing: In most jurisdictions, signing the treaty does not bind the signatory. The signing of the treaty verifies that the document states what the parties agreed upon.
• Ratification: Ratification occurs according to the laws and procedure of the nation.
• Exchange of Instruments of Ratification: After the parties to a treaty ratify it, they exchange the instruments of ratification to indicate their consent to being bound by the terms of the treaty.
• Publication: A treaty becomes effective upon publication. A treaty which is in effect confers certain rights and obligations beginning from the "date in force". The "date in force" may be an immediate time, or some point in the future. Occasionally the "date in force" may be retroactive.