Treaties in Motion: The Evolution of Treaties from Formation to Termination. By Malgosia Fitzmaurice and Panos Merkouris

Abstract

To scholars and practitioners of international law, the ‘life-cycle’ of a treaty refers to a familiar notion. This term, loosely speaking, typically describes a treaty’s evolution from formation to possible termination, via its interpretation, application, amendment or modification, and anything else in between. Those adept at navigating the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and its preparatory documentation, including the International Law Commission’s commentaries to its 1966 Draft Articles on the Law of Treaties and the Official Records of the United Nations Conference on the Law of Treaties, among many others, may find these waters navigable. To others, they can appear daunting. At times, though, both expert and newcomer alike find themselves reaching for practice-oriented specialist works such as the Treaty Handbook or the Summary of Practice of the Secretary-General as Depositary of Multilateral Treaties, published by the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, for a handy overview of the treaty-making process.1 The value of schematic guides lies precisely in their representation of a treaty’s life-cycle, which can be of assistance—or indeed essential—in diplomatic relations and international legal practice, not least when certain states’ withdrawal from multilateral treaties appears to be on the rise.