Treaties From Grolier's The New Book of Knowledge

Treaties have been made since early times. About 3000 B.C. an arbitration treaty to settle a boundary dispute was concluded between the kings of two city-states of Mesopotamia. About 1280 B.C. Ramses II, Pharaoh of Egypt, and Hattushilish, King of the Hittites, made a treaty of peace, alliance, and extradition (surrender of a criminal by one state or nation to another). The Greeks and Romans developed elaborate ceremonials of treaty-making. In the Middle Ages, Emperor Charlemagne made treaties with the Muslim caliph Harun al-Rashid (764?-809).

When the European system of independent nations developed during the 15th and 16th centuries, the number of treaties grew steadily. About 10,000 treaties have been concluded since 1920, and more than that number are in force between the leading nations. Most of these are bilateral treaties, that is, treaties between two nations. Almost 1,000 are multilateral treaties, that is, treaties involving more than two nations. Some treaties, such as the United Nations Charter, join together most of the countries of the world.

Since the end of the 17th century the texts of important treaties usually have been published by the nations taking part in them. The Covenant of the League of Nations required its members to register treaties with the organization. The United Nations Charter makes the same requirement of members.

Treaties may be classified as bilateral or multilateral, according to the number of parties involved. They may also be classified according to the nature of the obligations or duties undertaken, such as lawmaking or contractual. Sometimes treaties are classified according to subject matter. For example, there are political treaties (which include territorial transfers and peace treaties), commercial treaties, and treaties for the administration of justice, the establishment of international organizations and unions, and the codification of international law.

Great peace treaties such as the Treaties of Westphalia (1648), ending the Thirty Years' War, and the Treaty of Vienna (1815), ending the Napoleonic Wars, included a few articles setting up international organizations and codifying international law. But special treaties devoted to these questions were few until the second half of the 19th century. The Declaration of Paris (1856) established important rules of maritime warfare. The Geneva Convention (1864) set up the Red Cross organization to relieve the suffering caused by war. Treaties organizing the International Telegraphic Union in 1865 and the International Postal Union in 1874 (renamed the Universal Postal Union in 1878) marked the beginning of public international unions.

During the 20th century many multilateral treaties have been made. These include the Hague Conventions (1899, 1907), the League of Nations Covenant (1919), the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice (1920), the Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact (1928), and the United Nations Charter (1945). Many lawmaking treaties have been made under the sponsorship of the League of Nations, the United Nations, and such regional organizations as the Organization of American States (OAS), the European Communities, and the Organization of African Unity (OAU).

Treaties may be made by an informal exchange of notes or by an agreement signed by authority of the chief executives of the nations concerned. But the most important treaties are concluded by elaborate formalities often requiring the consent of a legislative body.

Bilateral Treaties. Formalities for bilateral treaties usually include the following steps.

1. Exchange of "full powers" of the representatives of the nations concerned, indicating the subject that they are authorized by the chief executive of their country to negotiate (work out).
2. Negotiation, carried on in confidence.
3. Signature (if negotiation is successful) by the negotiators of completed texts in the languages of the countries taking part. The negotiators first sign the text in their own languages.
4. Ratification (official approval) by the respective countries, usually by the chief executives, who are often required by their nations' constitutions to obtain the consent of one or both houses of the legislature. The United States Constitution states that the president makes treaties "by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate... provided two thirds of the Senators present concur." In France treaties, except for political alliances and military conventions, must be approved by a majority of both houses of the legislature. In Great Britain the Crown in Council (the reigning monarch with the Privy Council) ratifies treaties, but ordinarily the government submits them to the House of Commons for its consideration before ratification.
5. Exchange of ratifications, the final step. In this ceremony the representatives negotiating the treaty exchange the instruments (documents) of ratification by their countries. These are carefully examined to discover whether any reservations (limitations or exceptions) have been attached. The treaty comes into force on this date, unless the text itself provides another date, past or future.

A participating country that later finds that its negotiator was the innocent victim of fraud or duress (force) at the time of ratification may declare the treaty cancelled. The use of force or pressure against a country usually is present in the case of treaties of peace ending a war. As long as war was regarded as a lawful activity, duress was not considered grounds for cancelling peace treaties. But after the Japanese seized Manchuria in 1931, United States Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson (1867-1950) declared that nations that were bound by treaty not to make war could not benefit from aggression. This meant that other countries would not recognize the results of any aggression. Stimson was referring to the Pact of Paris, or the Kellogg-Briand Pact, which was an agreement between 48 nations (including Japan) to renounce war as an instrument of national policy. He stated that treaties made as a result of aggression in defiance of the pact should not be recognized. The Stimson Doctrine was approved by the League of Nations Assembly and has been followed ever since.

Multilateral Treaties. Multilateral treaties are concluded in much the same way as bilateral treaties. The representatives taking part meet in a conference, which may be called especially to deal with a particular subject or may be a regular meeting, such as the United Nations General Assembly. The credentials (authority to negotiate) of the representatives are accepted, and negotiations proceed by public debate, as in a legislative assembly. Usually there are some confidential discussions between the leading participants. The final text is signed by those negotiators who agree. It is then submitted to their governments for ratification. The instruments of ratification are deposited for safekeeping in a place agreed upon, such as the Secretariat of the United Nations. Often multilateral treaties may be adhered to (accepted) by representatives of countries that were not among the original signers.

Treaties may be ended only by consent of the nations involved or by procedures accepted by general international law. Commercial treaties usually provide that a signer may denounce them after 1 year's notice. International organizations often provide that a member may withdraw after giving advance notice. Members of the League of Nations could withdraw on 2 years' notice. Although there is no such provision in the United Nations Charter, Indonesia withdrew in 1965, rejoining the following year.

International law recognizes that a bilateral treaty is ended if one of the signing nations ceases to exist. For example, Texas, which is today a state, was an independent republic before it joined the United States. A change in government, even by revolution, does not end a nation's existence. War between the signatory nations ends political treaties but only interrupts commercial treaties. Treaties concerning rules of war are brought into force. If one signatory power breaks the treaty, the other party may declare it no longer in force or may suspend its operation.

An important change in conditions may make a treaty out of date. This principle is known as rebus sic stantibus, which is Latin for "affairs remaining thus." It has been said that this principle is to be understood, if not expressed, in all treaties. Some authorities state that a signatory power may denounce a treaty when a change in conditions makes continuance of the treaty conflict with the national interest of that power. But there is another principle, known as pacta sunt servanda, which is Latin for "treaties must be observed." This means that even if a treaty is ended as an effective document, certain rights established by it (such as a transfer of territory or a boundary line) continue in force.

International law provides rules for explaining the meaning of treaties. The purpose of a treaty often is expressed in the preamble, or introduction.

Language. International law provides an exact meaning for technical terms used in a treaty. Differences in language, however, often make interpretation of nontechnical terms difficult. This is true even when the texts in two languages are compared carefully before the document is signed. Before the 18th century treaties generally were in Latin. Then, up to World War I, French was the language commonly used in multilateral treaties. The League of Nations Covenant was official in both French and English. The United Nations Charter is official in French, English, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese.

Reservations. Sometimes, for various reasons, a country will ask that a certain limitation or exception be added to a treaty. This is done when the treaty is signed or ratified, and these reservations must be accepted by the other parties to the treaty. The usual time for this is on exchange of ratification. Difficulties arise in the case of multilateral treaties when reservations are accepted by some of the treaty signers but not by others. Often such treaties forbid reservations except to specified articles of the treaty.

Treaties are upheld mainly by the common interests and good faith of the signers. Peace treaties that were not freely accepted by the defeated party often provided for occupation of its territory by the victor over a period of years. This was done to make sure that treaty provisions were observed. Treaties often provide for arbitration of disputes, should the meaning or use of terms be questioned.

The problem of maintaining treaties in a rapidly changing world is a serious one for international law and international organizations. Treaty-making is the legislative (lawmaking) process of the society of nations. But the principle that an independent nation is not bound by a treaty to which it is not a party makes it difficult to keep international law up-to-date by the treaty-making process.

Under Article 14 of its charter the United Nations General Assembly may recommend measures to meet situations, including treaty provisions, that are "likely to impair the general welfare or friendly relations among nations." However, it can only recommend measures, not enforce them.