VIENNA CONVENTION ON SUCCESSION OF STATES IN RESPECT OF TREATIES

Abstract

This chapter discusses key aspects of Vienna Convention on Succession of States in Respect of Treaties. The Vienna Convention on Succession of States in Respect of Treaties, adopted on August 22, 1978, has not yet entered into force. Its adoption by an impressive majority at the plenipotentiary Conference at Vienna constituted another step in the codification of treaty law within the framework of the United Nations, the first fruit of which was the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. The Convention on State Succession reflects the provisions of the Convention on the Law of Treaties: Both deal only with written treaties between States. The former defines the basic concept of State succession as the replacement of one State by another in the responsibility for the -» international relations of a given territory and not just a change of government. This neutral definition is intended to avoid difficulties that might result from referring to the change of territorial sovereignty or to the treaty-making power.