The Meaning of Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: Analysis Under the Rules of Treaty Interpretation

Abstract

Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) obliges the State Parties to pursue negotiations in good faith in order to achieve the cessation of the nuclear arms race, the elimination of nuclear weapons and the ultimate goal of general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control. The nature and exact scope of the rights and obligations flowing from this provision are uncertain. The present chapter aims at the clarification of some of the questions left open in this debate. It proposes a legal analysis of Article VI in the light of the different means of treaty interpretation according to Articles 31 and 32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT). Particular attention will be paid to the special nature of the NPT that distinguishes clearly between two different categories of State Parties, the few nuclear weapon States (NWS), on the one side, and the numerous non-nuclear weapon States (NNWS), on the other side. It will also be explained why in a treaty such as the NPT a teleological interpretation, taking into consideration its object and purpose and pursuing its effet utile, plays a significant role. Moreover, Article VI has to be analysed in the light of the political, social and technological developments as well as the considerable changes that the international legal order has itself undergone during almost half a century, including a higher protection of the human being. Therefore, this chapter will also reply to the allegation according to which the subsequent practice, since the adoption of the treaty in 1968 that had been surrounded by the special circumstances of the Cold War, has changed substantially the rights and obligations of States under Article VI NPT or even made this provision meaningless.