International Law
International Treaties
International Treaties
This page does provide access to the different international instruments that African countries may have endorsed or be signatories.
International Law has the following types of instruments:
| Agreement |
It is employed especially for instruments of a technical or administrative character, which are signed by the representatives of government departments, but are not subject to ratification. Agreements are usually less formal and deal with a narrower range of subject-matter than "treaties". There is a general tendency to apply the term "agreement" to bilateral or restricted multilateral treaties. |
| Charter | "Charter" is used for particularly formal and solemn instruments, such as the constituent treaty of an international organization. e.g Charter of the UN http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/index.shtml |
| Convention | "Convention" is generally used for formal multilateral treaties with a broad number of parties. Conventions are normally open for participation by the international community as a whole, or by a large number of states. e.g: Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities |
| Declaration | "Declarations" are not always legally binding. The term is often deliberately chosen to indicate that the parties do not intend to create binding obligations but merely want to declare certain aspirations. e.g.: Declaration on the Rights of Peoples to Peace |
| Protocol | The term "protocol" is used for agreements less formal than those entitled "treaty" or "convention" e.g: Basel Protocol on Liability and Compensation for Damage Resulting from Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal |
| Treaty | A formal agreement between two or more states, as in reference to terms of peace or trade. e.g. Treaty forming the Organization of African Unity OAU Charter, Addis Ababa, 25 May 1963 |
| International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Treaties | It is often referred to as the “laws of war” or the “law of armed conflict.” It is comprised of Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions, as well as subsequent treaties, case law and customary international law. It defines the conduct and responsibilities of belligerent nations, neutral nations and individual nations engaged in warfare, in relation to each other and to civilians. e.g.: Algeria's List of IHL Treaties http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/Pays?ReadForm&c=DZ |
Multilateral Treaties
Multilateral Treaties
The United Nations Treaty Collections (http://treaties.un.org) consolidates all information on treaties (i.e., signatures, ratifications, accessions, denunciations, miscellaneous notifications, reservations, declarations and objections) undertaken relating to the multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General.
The Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary General (MTDSG) (http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ParticipationStatus.aspx ) provides information on the status of over 500 major multilateral instruments deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations (as of 1 January 2009) and covers a range of subject matter such as Human Rights, Disarmament, Commodities, Refugees, the Environment and the Law of the Sea, The number of treaties deposited with the Secretary-General keeps growing steadily. This publication reflects the status of these instruments, as Member States sign, ratify, accede or lodge declaration, reservations or objections.
This Collection is divided into 2 series:
- United Nations Treaty Series (from December 1946) - A collection of treaties and international agreements registered or filed and recorded with and published by the Secretariat since 1946, pursuant to Article 102 of the Charter. The UNTS includes the texts of treaties in their authentic language(s), along with translations into English and French, as appropriate. The collection currently contains over 158,000 treaties and related subsequent actions.
The UN treaties are grouped into 22 Chapters, each of which has a collection of treaties under their respective topic. The treaties within each chapter are listed with in the chronological order of their conclusion. To view the United of Nations treaties see here http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ParticipationStatus.aspx - League of Nations Treaty Series (5 July 1920 - 3 October 1944) - This is a collection of treaties and subsequent treaty actions registered with and published by the Secretariat of the League of Nations pursuant to Article 18 of its Covenant. It contains the texts of treaties and records of subsequent treaty actions.
The League of Nations treaties are only 33 and they are classified in the order in which they appear in the Last LON publication of signatures, ratifications and accessions.
To view the League of Nations treaties, click here http://treaties.un.org/Pages/LON.aspx
The following information is typically provided for each treaty in the header of each chapter:
- The full title, place and date of adoption or conclusion;
- Entry into force;
- Registration date and number, pursuant to Article 102 of the Charter (where appropriate);
- The number of signatories and parties;
- Declarations, Reservations, Objections : The texts of declarations and reservations generally appear in full immediately following the status tables. Objections, territorial applications and communications of a special nature, for example, declarations recognizing the competence of committees such as the Human Rights Committee, also appear in full. Related communications, for example, communications with regard to objections, and other information appear in footnotes.
You may also browse by...
Historical Information: where you can find out the names former names of the states, and when the name was replaced. For instance, Burkina Faso was formerly known as “Upper Volta” until 4 August 1984. For more historical information click http://treaties.un.org/Pages/HistoricalInfo.aspx
The UN treaties are grouped into 22 Chapters, each of which has a collection of treaties under their respective topic. The treaties within each chapter are listed with in the chronological order of their conclusion. This is the link that provides the 'Chapters' of the Treaties of the UN that contain the various themes of the international instruments http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ParticipationStatus.aspx
Advance search: you can search by "object” and then by “attributes.”
This can be found at (http://treaties.un.org/Pages/AdvanceSearch.aspx?tab=UN)
| Objects | Attributes |
| If you select Action | You will be able to search by:
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| If you select CN (Combined Nomenclature) | You will be able to search by:
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| If you select CTC (Counter-Terrorism Committee) | You will be able to search by:
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| If you select Maps | You will be able to search by:
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| If you select Treaty | You will be able to search by:
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Full Index: you can search via title/keyword the entire index of treaties. The index allows you to see the treaty's Entry Into Force (EIF), Status, and Notes. To view the Index see here http://treaties.un.org/Pages/Index.aspx
Full text search: here you can make a full text search of all treaties (http://treaties.un.org/Pages/FileSearch.aspx?tab=UN )
UN Treaties
UN Treaties
A collection of treaties and international agreements registered or filed and recorded with and published by the Secretariat since 1946, pursuant to Article 102 of the Charter. The UNTS includes the texts of treaties in their authentic language(s), along with translations into English and French, as appropriate. The collection currently contains treaties and related subsequent actions.
Popular name: the UN Treaty Collection also makes it possible to search for international agreements by Popular name. The popular name can include the acronym e.g. (GATT – General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) so it allows you to scroll and look for the name that is commonly used. To view the popular name listing see here http://treaties.un.org/Pages/UNTSOnline.aspx?id=1
Title/Keyword : You may look for an exact match of a phrase, or a match of all the words used or a match of any of the words used. To view the title/keyword search see here
http://treaties.un.org/Pages/UNTSOnline.aspx?id=2
Participants: this will allows you to find information concerning the treaties that have been adopted by each member state of the UN. To view the “participants” search see here
http://treaties.un.org/Pages/UNTSOnline.aspx?id=3
Advanced search: it enables you to classify information according to Action, Maps or treaty, thus allowing you to get the specific information that you are looking for.
This can be found at (http://treaties.un.org/Pages/AdvanceSearch.aspx?tab=UNTS )
| Objects | Attributes |
| If you select Action | You will be able to search by:
|
| If you select CN (Combined Nomenclature) | You will be able to search by:
|
| If you select CTC (Counter-Terrorism Committee) | You will be able to search by:
|
| If you select Maps | You will be able to search by:
|
| If you select Treaty | You will be able to search by:
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Full text search: here you can make a full text search of all treaties http://treaties.un.org/Pages/FileSearch.aspx?tab=UN
Action search: Here you can search using the following criteria:
- Registration No – e.g From registration number I-27531 to number I-14668
- Date of Receipt – e.g. From 20/11/1989 to 25/05/2000
- Date of Effect – e.g. From 1/1/1963 to 17/10/1994
- Actions – e.g. Acceptance, Accession, Confirmation, Cessation, Communication, Decision, Declaration, Discontinuance, Entry Into Force, Exclusion, Extension, Termination or Withdrawal.
Participant Search: With this criteria, you will be able to select a certain country/participant) to a treaty. An entire index of the 606 treaties is also included, where you can search via title/keyword. The index allows you to see the treaty's Entry Into Force (EIF), Status, and Notes. The Index can be viewed here http://treaties.un.org/Pages/Index.aspx
Monthly Statements of Treaties and International Agreements
This publication is issued monthly by the Treaty Section of the Office of Legal Affairs (http://untreaty.un.org/ola/div_treaty.aspx?section=treaty ) pursuant to article 13 of the Regulations prior to their publication in the UNTS pursuant to Article 102 of the Charter. It contains detailed record of treaties and related subsequent treaty actions which were registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat on a given month.
Other collections
Other collections
Photographs of Signature Ceremonies
This collection consists of photographs taken at signature ceremonies relating to multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General (http://treaties.un.org/Pages/PhotoList.aspx )
Titles in the UN Official Languages
This collection consists of the titles of multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General in the UN official languages – Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish (http://treaties.un.org/Pages/TreatyEvents.aspx?pathtreaty=Treaty/Focus/Page1_en.xml )
Summary of Practice of the Secretary-General as Depositary of Multilateral Treaties
This on-line publication prepared by the Treaty Section of the Office of Legal Affairs highlights the main features of the practice followed by the Secretary-General in the daily exercise of depositary functions. Contains models of instruments, depositary notifications, etc. (http://treaties.un.org/Pages/Publications.aspx?pathpub=Publication/SoP/Page1_en.xml )
Treaty Handbook
This publication has been prepared by the Treaty Section of the Office of Legal Affairs as a guide to the Secretary-General's practice as a depositary of multilateral treaties and the Secretariat's practice in relation to the registration and publication functions. (http://treaties.un.org/Pages/Publications.aspx?pathpub=Publication/TH/Page1_en.xml )
Handbook of Final Clauses of Multilateral Treaties
This publication has been prepared by the Treaty Section of the Office of Legal Affairs as a practical guide intended to assist those who are directly involved in the multilateral treaty-making. In particular, its purpose is to help States with scarce resources and limited technical proficiency in treaty law and practice to participate fully in the multilateral treaty-making process. It incorporates recent developments in the practice of the Secretary-General as depositary of multilateral treaties with regard to matters normally included in the final clauses of these treaties. (http://treaties.un.org/Pages/Publications.aspx?pathpub=Publication/FC/Page1_en.xml )
Monthly Statements of treaties and International Agreements
This publication is issued monthly by the Treaty Section of the Office of Legal Affairs pursuant to article 13 of the Regulations prior to their publication in the UNTS pursuant to Article 102 of the Charter. It contains detailed record of treaties and related subsequent treaty actions which were registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat on a given month. (http://treaties.un.org/Pages/Publications.aspx?pathpub=Publication/MS/Page1_en.xml )
United Nations Treaty Series Cumulative Index
In order to facilitate reference to the United Nations Treaty Series, the Secretariat publishes a Cumulative Index (in English and French). This continues the practice of the League of Nations, which published a similar index to its Treaty Series. A volume of the United Nations Treaty Series Cumulative Index is issued for every fifty volumes of the United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS). (http://treaties.un.org/Pages/Publications.aspx?pathpub=Publication/CI/Page1_en.xml )
Notes verbales from the Legal Counsel relating to the depositary practice and the registration of treaties pursuant to Article 102 of the Charter
To facilitate access by Member States, international organizations and other interested entities to notes verbales issued by the Legal Counsel on matters concerning the registration and publication of treaties and depositary requirements, the relevant notes are made available on-line. (http://treaties.un.org/Pages/Publications.aspx?pathpub=Publication/NV/Page1_en.xml )
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