Part II Commentaries to Typical Sofa Rules, 34 Applicability during Crisis or War

Abstract

This chapter considers the applicability of treaty law provisions in periods of crisis or war. Such an issue generally cannot be solved by reference to the treaty text itself. In fact, the UN Model SOFA does not address the issue, the general interest here is to conduct peace operations mandated by the Security Council in any event, making full use of relevant status-of-forces agreement (SOFA) provisions as far as possible even in times of tension. The NATO SOFA provides for a double track solution in Art. XV: in the event of ‘hostilities to which the North Atlantic Treaty applies’ NATO SOFA shall remain in force with one single exception related to claims settlement, but its provisions shall be reviewed immediately and they may even be suspended by giving sixty days' notice.