Treaties
Defn:
Prof. Oppenheim: “International treaties are agreements of a contractual character
between States or Organizations of States creating legal rights and treaties”.
Prof. Schwarzenberger: “Treaties are agreements between subjects of international
law creating a binding obligation in international law”.
McNair: “A written agreement by which two or more States or International
organization create or intend to create relations between themselves operating within
the spheres of International Law”.
The term treaty has also been defined in the Vienna Convention on the Law of
Treaties, 1969. Article 2(1) (a) of the Convention defines treaty as “an international
agreement concluded between States in written form and governed by international
law”. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties came into force on 27th January
1980.
The Treaty of Kadesh is the oldest surviving treaty – (Egyptian-Hittite peace treaty
aimed at establishing and maintaining peaceful relations between the parties)
Basis of the Binding Force of International Treaties
As per Anzilotti, the binding force of international treaty is on account of the
fundamental principle known as ‘Pacta Sunt Servanda’. This was reaffirmed in Article
26 of the 1969 Convention, and underlies every international agreement. “Every
treaty in force is binding upon the parties to it and must be performed by them in good
faith”
Different Varieties of Treaties
Protocol: This signifies an agreement less formal than a treaty or convention proper.
The term covers the following instruments also; an instrument subsidiary to a
convention, an ancillary instrument to a convention, an altogether independent treaty,
Process-Verbal.
