International Agreements
S3: Science Safety Security
International agreements are formal understandings or commitments between two or more countries. An agreement between two countries is called “bilateral,” while an agreement between several countries is “multilateral.” The countries bound by an international agreement are generally referred to as “States Parties.”
Under international law, a treaty is any legally binding agreement between states (countries). A treaty can be called a Convention, a Protocol, a Pact, an Accord, etc.; it is the content of the agreement, not its name, which makes it a treaty. Thus, the Geneva Protocol and the Biological Weapons Convention are both treaties even though neither has the word “treaty” in its name. Under U.S. law, a treaty is specifically a legally binding agreement between countries that requires ratification and the “advice and consent” of the Senate. All other agreements (treaties in the international sense) are called Executive Agreements, but are nonetheless legally binding for the U.S. under international law.
A treaty is negotiated by a group of countries, either through an organization set up for that specific purpose, or through an existing body such as the United Nations (UN) Council for Disarmament. The negotiation process may take several years, depending on the topic of the treaty and the number of countries participating. After negotiations are finished, the treaty is signed by representatives of the governments involved. The terms may require that the treaty be ratified as well as signed before it becomes legally binding. A government ratifies a treaty by depositing an instrument of ratification at a location specified in the treaty; the instrument of ratification is a document containing a formal confirmation that the government consents to the terms of the treaty. The ratification process varies according to the laws and Constitutions of each country. In the U.S., the President can ratify a treaty only after getting the “advice and consent” of two thirds of the Senate.
Unless a treaty contains provisions for further agreements or actions, only the treaty text is legally binding. Generally, an amendment to a treaty is only binding to the states that have ratified the amendment, and agreements reached at review conferences, summits, or meetings of the states parties are politically but not legally binding. An example of a treaty that does have provisions for further binding agreements is the UN Charter. By signing and ratifying the Charter, countries agreed to be legally bound by resolutions passed by UN bodies such as the General Assembly and the Security Council. Thus, UN resolutions are legally binding on UN Member States, and no signature or ratification is necessary.
In addition to treaties, there are other less formal international agreements. These include such efforts as the
Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) and the
G7 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Although the PSI has a “Statement of Interdiction Principles” and the G7 Global Partnership has several statements by G7 leaders, neither has a legally binding document that lays out specific obligations and that is signed or ratified by member countries.
