Some Notable Developments in the Practice of the UN Secretary-General as Depositary of Multilateral Treaties: Reservations and Declarations

2005 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 433-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Palitha T. B. Kohona

This Note will examine developments in the practice of the United Nations secretary-general on reservations and declarations to treaties, particularly since 1994 when the Summary of Practice of the Secretary-General as Depositary of Multilateral Treaties was last updated. This period was marked by some notable developments in the previous practice, especially in connection with human rights treaties.The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969 (Vienna Convention) provides the framework for the functions of the secretary-general in his role as depositary of multilateral treaties. Most aspects of the law relating to reservations and declarations to treaties are also codified in the Vienna Convention.Over five hundred multilateral treaties are deposited with the secretary-general. The complex requirements relating to these treaties and the concerns of the many disparate states that may undertake treaty actions with regard to them have significantly influenced his practice. He is also conscious of the political sensitivities surrounding his decisions and the need to protect his own integrity and impartiality.

Author(s):  
Bantekas Ilias

This chapter examines Article 41 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). In accordance with article 76(1) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the designation of the depositary of a treaty may be made by the negotiating states, either in the treaty itself or in some other manner. Practice, as is the case with Article 41 CRPD, suggests that depositories are designated in the body of the treaty. The depositary is expected to undertake certain functions and assume several powers under customary international law, none of which are explained in the depositary provisions of multilateral treaties. The functions and powers of the depositary should be distinguished from other functions and powers entrusted to the same entity under other provisions of the same treaty.


Author(s):  
Bantekas Ilias

This chapter examines Article 45 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which deals with the entry into force of the Convention. The practice of the UN in respect of multilateral treaties suggests an antipathy towards their entry into force without a substantial quorum of ratifications. Article 45(1) CRPD does not depart from the UN model whereby a treaty enters into force in relation to existing (ratifying) parties and not independently of them. In accordance with customary law as reflected in Article 24(4) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, Article 45 CRPD applies not from the moment the treaty enters into force, but rather from the ‘moment of the adoption of the text’. The adoption of the text of a treaty does not necessarily coincide with the signing of the treaty. The text of the CRPD was adopted on 13 December 2006 but was opened for signature on 30 March 2007.


Author(s):  
Casey-Maslen Stuart ◽  
Clapham Andrew ◽  
Giacca Gilles ◽  
Parker Sarah

This chapter analyses Article 27 of the ATT. The provision designates the Secretary-General of the UN as the Depositary of the ATT. This is in accord with the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which expressly allows the Chief Administrative Officer of an international organization to be designated as the Depositary of a treaty, and for the designation to be made in the treaty itself. Given the fact that the ATT was negotiated within the UN, it was never in doubt that the Secretary-General of the United Nations would be designated the Depositary. The Depositary carries out functions with respect to the Convention, among others to allow states to sign it, as well as to accept and record instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval, and accession. The chapter concludes with a brief description of these functions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 141
Author(s):  
Zaheer Iqbal Cheema ◽  
Shahrul Mizan Ismail

The application of rules on reservations under the Vienna Convention on Laws of Treaties (VCLT) has generated a debate to revisit the Vienna regime. The rules on reservations under the VCLT have helped attain the universality of human rights treaties but at the price of integrity. The beneficial aspect of reservations is the promotion of universal recognition of human rights treaties. However, they have shattered the uniform and practical application of the provisions of these treaties. The disappointment of the treaty monitoring bodies over the VCLT’s rules on reservations to human rights treaties has resulted in the demand for a separate set of rules on reservations drawn to them. The universality and integrity of these treaties have been at the forefront of the treaty bodies and scholars. In the current debate on rules on reservations, this research tracks down the historical development of the law on reservations to multilateral treaties. It highlights the unique features of the human rights treaties and examines the application of rules to determine the compatibility of reservations. The research suggests treaty bodies adopt a novel approach to maintain the balance between universality and their integrity.   Received: 9 April 2021 / Accepted: 3 June 2021 / Published: 5 September 2021


2021 ◽  
pp. 58-62
Author(s):  
Veronika Shcherbyna ◽  
Ivanna Maryniv

Problem setting. Nowadays the problem of the provisional application of treaties can be described as actual. It is no accident that it has been the subject of the attention of the United Nations International Law Commission with the task of elaborating the most important problems of international law. Furthermore, the above-mentioned subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly recognized the need to analyze the provisional application of treaties, the need for the progressive development and codification of international law in respect of the topic dealt with in this article. Аnalysis of research and publications. Aspects of the problem of provisional application of treaties are reflected primarily in the works of in the works of I.I. Lukashuk, O.V. Kyivets, O.V. Pushniak, I.I. Maryniv, T. Leber. Target of research is to describe the legal institution of the provisional introduction of international treaties and to find reasons for its use. Article’s main body. The article is devoted to the question of the temporary use of an international treaty as a fundamental institution of international law. The study discusses the need for provisional application of treaties. Attention was paid to the works of legal academics, who had considered this issue, their works and summaries were reviewed regarding the question under consideration. The author analyzed the formulations of the article 25 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Legal aspects and shortcomings were considered. First of all, it was noted that there is no definition of the temporary application of international treaties in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and article 25 of the Convention had been criticized for being difficult to understand and lacking legal precision. In the article, the author noted that in general, the provisional use takes place before the entry into force of the treaty, when countries have not yet completed the necessary internal state procedures for its entry into force and have not internationally expressed consent to be bound. The author also stressed that the application of the treaty before it enters into force or will enter in the moment when it is implemented, the parties will address to their commitments and thus the object of the treaty would disappear. The author highlighted another legal aspect of the international legal institution under consideration is that, in order to implement the institution of provisional application of treaties, A special law and regulations may be enacted in domestic law (constitutional and legislative). What is more, the author mentioned that it is appropriate to devote attention to the work of the father of the national science on the law of international treaties I.I. Lukashuk. Conclusions. The author concluded that the institution of the provisional use of treaties is one of the key institutions in the law of treaties enabling the parties to urgently address cooperation issues. Another conclusion of the author of this article is that countries resort to this legal instrument under consideration for several reasons: urgent resolution of issues to which the relevant treaties apply; the desire of countries to adopt and immediately implement confidence-building measures; preventing time gaps in the operation of a number of international treaties, which have been successively adopted and replace each other on the same subject.


Author(s):  
Richard Falk

This chapter reflects on the role as special rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC), which investigated the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The chapter first provides an overview of the role and office of special rapporteur, noting that UN concerns about Israel and responses to Palestinian grievances are highly politicized within the organization, before discussing some of the characteristics that distinguish the mandate established by the HRC and made applicable to Occupied Palestine. It also explains what was accomplished in six years as special rapporteur of the HRC and details the controversies and pressures attached to that job. It shows that the “UN” comprises different layers, agendas, and interests. The chapter claims that while the United Nations secretary-general in New York permitted personal attacks against the special rapporteur, the leadership and professionals of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva strongly supported his efforts in what the chapter calls the “legitimacy war”.


Author(s):  
Steven Wheatley

Chapter 4 examines the core United Nations human rights treaties. It shows how we can think of these as complex systems, the result of the interactions of the states parties and the treaty bodies. The work first explains the regime on opposability and denunciation, which establishes the binding nature of the conventions, before considering the law on reservations, noting how this differs from the scheme under general international law. The chapter then turns to the interpretation of convention rights, detailing the distinctive pro homine (‘in favour of the individual’) approach applied to human rights treaties. The law on interpretation also requires that we examine the subsequent practice of states parties, as well as the pronouncements of the treaty bodies. The doctrine of evolutionary interpretation explains how the ‘ordinary meaning’ of treaty terms can evolve with developments in technical and scientific knowledge, changes in societal understandings, and wider modifications in regulatory approaches outside of the human rights treaty system.


Author(s):  
Broderick Andrea

This chapter examines Article 4 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The article sets out the general obligations under the CRPD with a view to encouraging national legal and policy reform and guiding domestic implementation of the Convention. The content of Article 4 is of cross-cutting application, since it contains overarching principles that permeate the text of the Convention as a whole. The obligations contained in the article thus seek to contextualize the interpretation of the substantive provisions of the Convention. Article 4 enumerates both general obligations and specific obligations. This distinguishes it from similar provisions in other human rights treaties, which are more in the nature of general obligations of compliance.


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