Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties pp 945–962Cite as

Article 54. Termination of or withdrawal from a treaty under its provisions or by consent of the parties

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 5992 Accesses

Abstract

Part V of the VCLT on invalidity, termination and suspension of the operation of treaties sets out exceptions to the general rule pacta sunt servanda (Art 26). It consists of five sections. Section 3 (Arts 54–64) deals with the termination of treaties and the suspension of their operation. It both systematically and logically follows Section 2, which regulates the invalidity of treaties (Arts 46–53), for only valid treaties can be terminated or suspended pro futuro (Arts 70 and 72), whereas invalid treaties are void ab initio (Art 69). Thus, the two sections overlap at no point, but thematically interlock where treaties come into conflict with a peremptory norm of general international law (ius cogens): in this case the treaty will be void according to Section 2 (Arts 53 and 71), if such a conflict existed already at the time of its conclusion; whereas the later emergence of a conflicting ius cogens norm automatically terminates the treaty under Section 3 (Arts 64 and 71).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   219.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    R Jennings/A Watts Oppenheim’s International Law Vol I Parts 2–4 (9th edn 1992) 1296.

  2. 2.

    Or, for that matter, any other Non-State subject of international law (cf Art 2 para 1 lit a, Art 3).

  3. 3.

    Art 54 lit a, Art 55, Art 56 para 1, Art 57 lit a, Art 58 para 1 lit a, para 2, Art 60 para 4.

  4. 4.

    S Rosenne Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (2002) 4 EPIL 1308, 1312.

  5. 5.

    As of July 2011, the current number of UN Member States is 193.

  6. 6.

    See the negative answer given to the question whether Art 4 functions as a clause si omnes with regard to multilateral treaties by F Dopagne in Corten/Klein Art 4 MN 14–15. If Art 4 is not a clause si omnes, the VCLT applies to a multilateral treaty even if not all its parties had already been parties to the VCLT, but it will then only cover the treaty relationships between those parties that had.

  7. 7.

    See Art 38 para 1 lit b and c ICJ Statute.

  8. 8.

    Cf ICJ GabčÚkovo-Nagymaros Project (Hungary v Slovakia) [1997] ICJ Rep 7, para 47.

  9. 9.

    Art 42 must of course be read in the light of Art 73 VCLT, which indicates that the international legal rules on State succession, State responsibility and outbreak of hostilities between States may provide additional grounds for terminating a treaty relationship (Sinclair 163).

  10. 10.

    Aust 277.

  11. 11.

    V Chapaux in Corten/Klein Art 54 MN 2–3.

  12. 12.

    This was also remarked by some governments which commented on an earlier version drafted by Waldock who in response referred to the ‘code’ concept of the ILC’s work (Waldock V 25).

  13. 13.

    V Chapaux in Corten/Klein Art 54 MN 4.

  14. 14.

    Whether this ‘mastership’ is without exception remains to be seen (→ MN 47–48).

  15. 15.

    Annex to 1871 Protocol No 1 of the London Conferences (GF de Martens Nouveau recueil général de traités Ser 1 Vol 18 (1873) 278). See DJ Bederman The 1871 London Declaration, rebus sic stantibus and a Primitivist View of the Law of Nations (1988) 82 AJIL 1–40, who provides the following translation (ibid 3): “[I]t is an essential principle of the Law of Nations that no Power can liberate itself from the engagements of a Treaty, nor modify the stipulations thereof, unless with the consent of the Contracting Parties by means of an amicable arrangement.”

  16. 16.

    Fitzmaurice II 25 et seq.

  17. 17.

    Waldock II 36 et seq.

  18. 18.

    Cf Draft Art 40, Waldock V 28 et seq.

  19. 19.

    Final Draft, Commentary to Art 51, 249 para 4.

  20. 20.

    UNCLOT III 176. See also the explanation given by the representative of the Netherlands UNCLOT I 335.

  21. 21.

    UNCLOT III 176.

  22. 22.

    See eg the statements by the representatives of Norway and Australia UNCLOT I 335 paras 9–11. See also SE Nahlik The Grounds for Invalidity and Termination of Treaties (1971) 65 AJIL 736, 749 et seq.

  23. 23.

    Cf eg Art 58 ECHR as amended by Protocol No 11 ETS 155; Art 12 of the 1966 Optional Protocol to the ICCPR 999 UNTS 171; Art 31 of the 1984 Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment 1465 UNTS 85; Art 33 of the 2002 Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment, 18 December 2002, UN Doc A/RES/57/199.

  24. 24.

    Aust 277 who therefore suggests that the term should be avoided.

  25. 25.

    Ibid.

  26. 26.

    See Art 38 paras 2 and 3 of the ILC Draft Articles of 1963 ([1963-II] YbILC 188, 199). But see Art 28 of the 1936 Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits 173 LNTS 229 according to which this multilateral treaty will be terminated if denounced by one party only.

  27. 27.

    Jennings/Watts (n 1) 1296.

  28. 28.

    Cf eg Art 97 of the 1951 Treaty Establishing the European Coal and Steel Community 261 UNTS 140.

  29. 29.

    Aust 288; Villiger Art 54 MN 4. An example is Art 28 Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits (n 25) which provides for a fixed (but prolongable) duration of twenty years with the proviso that the principle of freedom of transit and navigation affirmed in Art 1 of the Convention shall continue without limit of time. One can also imagine transitional regulations in a treaty that are to expire after a fixed period of time.

  30. 30.

    By virtue of Art 5, the VCLT applies to constituent instruments of international organizations.

  31. 31.

    Cf eg Art 6 of the 1945 UN Charter and Art 8 of the 1949 Statute of the Council of Europe ETS 1.

  32. 32.

    F Capotorti L’extinction et la suspension des traités (1971) 134 RdC 417, 511–512.

  33. 33.

    Art 58 para 4 ECHR and Art 37 para 2 of the 1961 European Social Charter 529 UNTS 89 provide examples of the first alternative, and Art 41 para 2 ICCPR should be treated analogously.

  34. 34.

    See Aust 305.

  35. 35.

    Cf eg Art XIII of the 1994 WTO Agreement 1867 UNTS 154. See also the fairly common declarations made by Arab States when acceding to multilateral treaties that their accession should not establish any treaty relationship with Israel. These declarations amount to reservations ratione personae. See eg the declarations made by Morocco and Syria when acceding to the VCLT and the Israeli reaction thereto (Israel not yet having become a party to the VCLT).

  36. 36.

    See the many examples provided by Blix/Emerson 96 et seq and Aust 278 et seq.

  37. 37.

    Cf eg the clear expiry clause of Art 97 ECSC Treaty (n 28). The expiry clause in Art 14 of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 78 UNTS 277 is less clear.

  38. 38.

    Cf eg Art 21 of the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination 66 UNTS 195: one year period of notice.

  39. 39.

    ICJ Territorial Dispute (Libya v Chad) [1994] ICJ Rep 6, paras 72 et seq.

  40. 40.

    Cf eg Art 58 para 2 ECHR; Art 78 para 2 of the 1969 American Convention on Human Rights OASTS 36.

  41. 41.

    Cf eg Art XV of the Genocide Convention (n 36), according to which the Convention will cease to be in force when, as a result of denunciations, the number of parties falls below 16; Art 58 para 3 ECHR (according to which a party who ceases to be a member of the Council of Europe automatically also ceases to be a party to the Convention.

  42. 42.

    See eg Art 52 paras 3 and 4 of the 2001 International Coffee Agreement 261 UNTS 312; Art 63 paras 4 and 5 of the 2001 International Cocoa Agreement [2002] OJ L 342, 2.

  43. 43.

    Cf eg Art 13 of the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty 34 UNTS 241.

  44. 44.

    Cf eg Art 14 Genocide Convention (n 36).

  45. 45.

    UNTS 161. See also, among others, the parallel provision in Art XVI para 2 of the 1993 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction 1974 UNTS 45.

  46. 46.

    But see LR Helfer Exiting Treaties (2005) 91 VaJIL 1579, 1598.

  47. 47.

    UNSC Res 825 (1993), 11 May 1993, UN Doc S/RES/825 (1993).

  48. 48.

    See Aust 282.

  49. 49.

    UNSC Res 1718 (2006), 14 October 2006, UN Doc S/RES/1718 (2006).

  50. 50.

    Bundesministerium der Justiz (ed.), Bundesgesetzblatt 2011 Teil II: Fundstellennachweis B (as of 31 December 2010), 592.

  51. 51.

    UNSC Res 1874, 12 June 2009, UN Doc S/RES/1874. S Harnisch, Der UN-Sicherheitsrat im koreanischen Nuklearkonflikt (2010) Vereinte Nationen 157. See also S Talmon, Security Council Treaty Action, (2009) 62 Revue HellÕnique de droit international 100 et seq.

  52. 52.

    O Dörr Codifying and Developing Meta-Rules: The ILC and the Law of Treaties (2006) 49 GYIL 129, 151 et seq.

  53. 53.

    JA Frowein/N Krisch in Simma Art 39 MN 9.

  54. 54.

    R Plender The Role of Consent in the Termination of Treaties (1986) 57 BYIL 133, 136 et seq; Aust 306.

  55. 55.

    G Dahm/J Delbrück/R Wolfrum Völkerrecht Vol I/3 (2nd edn 2002) 720.

  56. 56.

    Ibid 727 et seq.

  57. 57.

    C Feist Kündigung, Rücktritt und Suspendierung von multilateralen Verträgen (2001) 209 et seq.

  58. 58.

    For the non-objecting States, this follows from Art 21 para 1 VCLT, for the objecting States, from Art 21 para 3 VCLT.

  59. 59.

    An example is the US reservation when acceding to the WHO, which was unanimously approved by the World Health Assembly (see K Widdows The Unilateral Denunciation of Treaties Containing no Denunciation Clause (1983) 53 BYIL 83, 100 et seq. See also Waldock II 69; T Christakis in Corten/Klein Art 56 MN 67 et seq.

  60. 60.

    ICJ Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v United States) (Jurisdiction and Admissibility) [1984] ICJ Rep 392, para 60.

  61. 61.

    Ibid para 63.

  62. 62.

    Ibid paras 61, 63.

  63. 63.

    V Chapaux in Corten/Klein Art 54 MN 8.

  64. 64.

    Final Draft, Commentary to Art 51, 249 para 3.

  65. 65.

    Capotorti (n 31) 494 et seq; Sinclair 184.

  66. 66.

    See Dahm/Delbrück/Wolfrum (n 54) 724 et seq. The 1919 and 1920 treaties on the protection of minorities which they cite as examples, however, do not make consensual termination by the parties dependent on the consent of the League of Nations as an external guarantor. Only the unilateral modification by the territorial State in which the minorities lived was made subject to the assent of a majority of the League Council (see eg Art 12 of the 1919 Treaty of Peace between the United States, the British Empire, France, Italy, and Japan, and Poland 13 AJIL Supp 423 (1919).

  67. 67.

    Capotorti (n 31) 496 et seq; Villiger Art 54 MN 7.

  68. 68.

    V Chapaux in Corten/Klein Art 54 MN 26 (referring to the 1978 continental shelf arbitration between the United Kingdom and France). If a subsequent rule of customary law does not bring about the termination of the earlier treaty pursuant to Art 54 lit b VCLT, the lex posterior rule will come in (in analogy to Art 30 para 3 VCLT).

  69. 69.

    ICJ Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros Project (Hungary v Slovakia) [1997] ICJ Rep 7, para 114.

  70. 70.

    See also V Chapaux in Corten/Klein Art 54 MN 12, 25.

  71. 71.

    Final Draft, Commentary to Art 39, 237 para 5.

  72. 72.

    Capotorti (n 31) 516 et seq; Sinclair 163 et seq. But see Plender (n 53) 138 et seq. See also B Simma Termination and Suspension of Treaties (1978) 21 GYIL 74, 93 et seq.

  73. 73.

    This is what Capotorti (n 31) 519 et seq suggests. MG Kohen Desuetude and Obsolescence of Treaties, in: E Cannizzaro (ed.), The Law of Treaties Beyond the Vienna Convention (2011), 350 et seq.

  74. 74.

    However, see N Kontou The Termination and Revision of Treaties in the Light of New Customary International Law (1994) 135 et seq, who argues that the VCLT was not intended to regulate the relationship between conventional and customary rules. Excepting customary grounds of termination from Art 42 para 2 VCLT would, however, render that provision obsolete. See also Plender (n 53) 139 et seq.

  75. 75.

    Société des Nations, Journal Officiel, Supplément Spécial No 194 (1946) 269 (English translation in F Knipping/H von Mangoldt/V Rittberger (eds) The United Nations System and Its Predecessors Vol II (1997) 213 et seq).

  76. 76.

    See ICJ International Status of South West Africa (Advisory Opinion) (separate opinion Read) [1950] ICJ Rep 167.

  77. 77.

    Aust 306 et seq. For the text of the declaration and the response notes of the other parties cf (1990) 51 ZaöRV 520 et seq.

  78. 78.

    Jennings/Watts (n 1) 1297. For the text of the declaration cf (1990) 51 ZaöRV 524 et seq. However, see Dörr (n 51) 153, who assumes that these were clausula cases (Art 62).

  79. 79.

    Cf UNCLOT I 476.

  80. 80.

    V Chapaux in Corten/Klein Art 54 MN 5, 10 et seq.

  81. 81.

    Not yet in force.

  82. 82.

    Cf MF Dominick Consultation (1992) 1 EPIL 776 et seq.

  83. 83.

    Cf Art 67 paras 2 and 3, which indicate that only parties can raise objections with suspensive effect.

  84. 84.

    Cf Arts 35–37 ILC Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (UNGA Res 56/83, 12 December 2001, UN Doc A/RES/56/83, Annex), which are declaratory of customary international law.

  85. 85.

    Art 53 TEU; Art 356 TFEU.

  86. 86.

    See Art 50 TEU added by the Treaty of Lisbon that entered into force on 1 December 2009.

  87. 87.

    C Eckes in H Smit/PE Herzog (eds) The Law of the European Union Vol 1 (2007) Art 51 TEU MN 73.03.

  88. 88.

    See Art 2 para 1 lit a.

  89. 89.

    PE Herzog in H Smit/PE Herzog (eds) The Law of the European Union Vol 6 (1998) Art 240 TEC MN 240.03, 240.04.

Selected Bibliography

  • A Aust Modern Treaty Law and Practice (2nd edn 2007) 277–289.

    Google Scholar 

  • Id Treaties, Termination in MPEPIL (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  • F Capotorti L’extinction et la suspension des traités (1971) 134 RdC 417–587.

    Google Scholar 

  • G Dahm/J Delbrück/R Wolfrum Völkerrecht Vol I/3 (2002) 716–726.

    Google Scholar 

  • N Kontou The Termination and Revision of Treaties in the Light of New Customary International Law (1994).

    Google Scholar 

  • R Jennings/A Watts Oppenheim’s International Law Vol I Parts 2–4 (1992) 1296–1298.

    Google Scholar 

  • R Plender The Role of Consent in the Termination of Treaties (1986) 57 BYIL 133–167.

    Google Scholar 

  • I Sinclair The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (2nd edn 1984) 162–169, 181–197.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. European Legal Studies Institute, University of Osnabrück, 49069, Osnabrück, Germany

    Professor Dr. Oliver Dörr LL.M. (Lond.)

  2. Faculty of Law Department of Public Law/International Law, University of Salzburg, 5020, Salzburg, Austria

    Professor Dr. Kirsten Schmalenbach

Authors
  1. Professor Dr. Oliver Dörr LL.M. (Lond.)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Professor Dr. Kirsten Schmalenbach
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Oliver Dörr LL.M. (Lond.) .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , European Legal Studies Institute, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, 49069, Germany

    Oliver Dörr

  2. , Law Faculty, University of Salzburg, Churfürst Strasse 1, Salzburg, 5020, Austria

    Kirsten Schmalenbach

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Dörr, O., Schmalenbach, K. (2012). Article 54. Termination of or withdrawal from a treaty under its provisions or by consent of the parties. In: Dörr, O., Schmalenbach, K. (eds) Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19291-3_57

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation