Bucking Conventional Wisdom: Russia's Unilateral 'Suspension' of the CFE Treaty

Abstract

The Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty) is a seminal arms control agreement between the member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the former Warsaw Pact. On July 14, 2007, President Vladimir Putin announced that the Russian Federation was unilaterally suspending its participation in the CFE Treaty. Russia's officially went into effect on December 12, 2007. Part I of this Note provides background on the adaptation of the CFE Treaty, a description of Russia's suspension and a summary of the reactions of NATO members and other parties to the Treaty. Part II analyzes the differences between withdrawal and suspension in the law of treaties, and Part III closely examines the Extraordinary Events clause that appears in the CFE Treaty. Three customary international law grounds for treaty are discussed in Part IV. Finally, Part V considers the legality of Russia's unilateral suspension of its obliga-tionns under the CFE Treaty, determining that the act constitutes a material breach under customary international law.