Treaties Of The First French Empire

A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal persons. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention, pact, or exchange of letters, among other terms. However, only documents that are legally binding on the parties are considered treaties under international law. Treaties vary on the basis of obligations (the extent to which states are bound to the rules), precision (the extent to which the rules are unambiguous), and delegation (the extent to which third parties have authority to interpret, apply and make rules).

Treaties are among the earliest manifestations of international relations, with the first known example being a border agreement between the Sumerian city-states of Lagash and Umma around 3100 BC. International agreements were used in some form by most major civilizations, growing in both sophistication and number during the early modern era. The early 19th century saw developments in diplomacy, foreign policy, and international law reflected by the widespread use of treaties. The 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties codified these practices, setting forth guidelines and rules for creating, amending, interpreting, and terminating treaties and for resolving disputes and alleged breaches.

Treaties are roughly analogous to contracts in that they establish the rights and binding obligations of the parties. They vary significantly in form, substance, and complexity and govern a wide variety of matters, such as security, trade, environment, and human rights. Treaties may be bilateral (between two countries) or multilateral (involving more than two countries). They may also be used to establish international institutions, such as the International Criminal Court and the United Nations, for which they often provide a governing framework. Treaties serve as primary sources of international law and have codified or established most international legal principles since the early 20th century.

Notwithstanding the Law of Treaties and customary international law, treaties are not required to follow any standard form. Nevertheless, all valid treaties must comply with the legal principle of ''pacta sunt servanda'' (Latin: "agreements must be kept"), under which parties are committed to perform their duties and honor their agreements in good faith. A treaty may also be invalidated, and thus rendered unenforceable, if it violates a preemptory norm (''jus cogens''), such as permitting a war of aggression or crimes against humanity.

Modern usage and form

A treaty is an official, express written agreement that states use to legally bind themselves.Shaw, Malcolm. (2003). It is also the objective outcome of a ceremonial occasion that acknowledges the parties and their defined relationships. There is no prerequisite of academic accreditation or cross-professional contextual knowledge required to publish a treaty.

However, since the late 19th century, most treaties have followed a fairly consistent format. A treaty typically begins with a preamble describing the "High Contracting Parties" and their shared objectives in executing the treaty, as well as summarizing any underlying events (such as the aftermath of a war in the case of a peace treaty). Modern preambles are sometimes structured as a single very long sentence formatted into multiple paragraphs for readability, in which each of the paragraphs begins with a gerund (desiring, recognizing, having, etc.).

The High Contracting Parties—referred to as either the official title of the head of state (but not including the personal name), e.g. ''His Majesty The King of X'' or ''His Excellency The President of Y'', or alternatively in the form of "'' Government of Z''"—are enumerated, along with the full names and titles of their Plenipotentiary representatives; a boilerplate clause describes how each party's representatives have communicated (or exchanged) their "full powers" (i.e., the official documents appointing them to act on behalf of their respective high contracting party) and found them in good or proper form. However, under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties if the representative is the head of state, head of government or minister of foreign affairs, no special document is needed, as holding such high office is sufficient.

The end of the preamble and the start of the actual agreement is often signaled by the words "have agreed as follows".

After the preamble comes numbered articles, which contain the substance of the parties' actual agreement. Each article heading usually encompasses a paragraph. A long treaty may further group articles under chapter headings.

Modern treaties, regardless of subject matter, usually contain articles governing where the final authentic copies of the treaty will be deposited and how any subsequent disputes as to their interpretation will be peacefully resolved.

The end of a treaty, the eschatocol (or closing protocol), is often signaled by language such as "in witness whereof" or "in faith whereof", followed by the words "DONE at", then the site(s) of the treaty's execution and the date(s) of its execution. The date is typically written in its most formal, non-numerical form; for example, the Charter of the United Nations reads "DONE at the city of San Francisco the twenty-sixth day of June, one thousand nine hundred and forty-five". If applicable, a treaty will note that it is executed in multiple copies in different languages, with a stipulation that the versions in different languages are equally authentic.

The signatures of the parties' representatives follow at the very end. When the text of a treaty is later reprinted, such as in a collection of treaties currently in effect, an editor will often append the dates on which the respective parties ratified the treaty and on which it came into effect for each party.

Bilateral and multilateral treaties

Bilateral treaties are concluded between two states or entities.Nicolson, Harold. (1934). ''Diplomacy,'' p. 135. It is possible for a bilateral treaty to have more than two parties; for example, each of the bilateral treaties between Switzerland and the European Union (EU) has seventeen parties: The parties are divided into two groups, the Swiss ("on the one part") and the EU and its member states ("on the other part"). The treaty establishes rights and obligations between the Swiss and the EU and the member states severally—it does not establish any rights and obligations amongst the EU and its member states.

A multilateral treaty