Transcript Registration

REGIONAL TRAINING ON
TREATY LAW AND PRACTICE
Jakarta, Indonesia, 13-15 October 2010
Registration Obligations of
States under Article 102 of the
Charter of the United Nations
and Publications of Treaties
Presentation by the Treaty Section,
Office of Legal Affairs, United Nations
1
Overview
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Article 102 of the Charter of the
United Nations
Definition of “Treaty” or
“International Agreement”
Treaty-making capacity
Requirements for submission of
treaties/agreements for registration
Publication of treaties and
subsequent actions
Assistance offered by the Office
of Legal Affairs (OLA)
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League of Nations

Article 18 of the Covenant of the
League of Nations:
“Every treaty or international engagement
entered into hereafter by any Member of
the League shall be forthwith registered
with the Secretariat and shall as soon as
possible be published by it. No such treaty
or international engagement shall be
binding until so registered.”
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Charter of the United Nations
Article 102
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Paragraph 1: “Every
treaty and every
international agreement
entered into by any
Member of the United
Nations after the present
Charter comes into force
shall as soon as possible
be registered with the
Secretariat and published
by it.”
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Charter of the United Nations
Article 102

Paragraph 2: “No party
to any such treaty or
international agreement
which has not been
registered in accordance
with the provisions of
paragraph 1 of this
Article may invoke that
treaty or agreement
before any organ of
the United Nations.”
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Article 102: Implications
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Each Member State: must register every
treaty/international agreement
United Nations Secretariat: must publish
all treaties/agreements registered
This function is performed by the
Treaty Section of the Office of Legal
Affairs
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Article 102: Implications
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No party to a non-registered
agreement may invoke that
treaty or agreement before any
organ of the United Nations
(for example, the International
Court of Justice)
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Article 102: Implications
When must a treaty be registered?
 Article 102(1) of the Charter: “as soon as
possible”.
 Regulations to give effect to Article 102
(adopted by the General Assembly in 1946) Article 1(2): “Registration shall not take place
until the treaty or international agreement
has come into force between two or more of
the parties thereto.”
 Secretariat’s practice: All Member States are
encouraged to submit their treaties for
registration – including non-recent ones
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Article 102: Implications
Registration does not imply a judgment
by the Secretariat:
 nature of the instrument,
 status of a party, or any similar
question
Secretariat’s action/inaction does not
confer or retrieve:
 status of a treaty/international
agreement
 status of a party
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Definition of “Treaty” or
“International Agreement”
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Charter of the United Nations: No
definition
Regulations to give effect to Article
102 (adopted by the General
Assembly in 1946)
Article 1:“whatever its form and
descriptive name”
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Definition of “Treaty” or
“International Agreement”
Vienna Convention on the Law of
Treaties, 1969, Article 2(1)(a):
“Treaty” means an international
agreement concluded between
States in written form and governed
by international law, whether
embodied in a single instrument or
in two or more related instruments
and whatever its particular
designation
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Definition of “Treaty” or
“International Agreement”
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Treaty
Convention
Protocol
Exchange of notes/letters
Memorandum of
Understanding
Minutes
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Treaty/International Agreement
Characteristics that an instrument
must meet to be considered for
registration:
At least two Parties with treatymaking capacity
Intention of Parties to create legal
obligations under international law
Binding under international law
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Treaty/International Agreement
Instruments which can not be
registered
Mere political declaration
Agreement governed by
national law
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Treaty-making capacity
Capacity:
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At least two parties
 Sovereign States
 Intergovernmental organizations
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Filing and Recording
Agreements not subject to
registration  are voluntarily filed
and recorded (but are still published
by the UN Secretariat), including
agreements between:
• United Nations and Specialized Agencies
• United Nations and non-member states
• Specialized Agencies and non-member
states
• Two or more Specialized Agencies
• Specialized Agencies and other
intergovernmental organizations
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Summary
 Treaty/International Agreement
whatever its form and descriptive name
within the meaning of Article 102 of the
UN Charter
binding under international law
entered into force
 Parties
treaty-making capacity on international
plane
intention to create obligations
under international law
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Requirements for submission
of treaties for registration
Who submits?
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Multilateral treaty
Depositary (e.g. Secretary-General, State or
other intergovernmental organization)
Bilateral treaty:
Either State, unless otherwise agreed
Double submission – first State to submit is
registering State
For UN Member States: Submission through
Permanent Missions in New York
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Requirements
What is submitted – Multilateral treaty?
 Certified true copy of treaty/agreement
 All authentic text(s)
 All attachments (annexes, minutes, proces-verbales,
etc.) constituting an integral part of the treaty
 Parties to the treaty
 Date of deposit of the instrument with the depositary
 Date of entry into force
 Subsequent actions (e.g., reservations, declarations)
 Two additional copies or one electronic copy (CDRom)
 Translations into English and/or French (if available)
[see Note Verbale LA 41 TR/230/Registration
and Publication Requirements/2010]
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Requirements
What is submitted – Bilateral treaty?
 Certified true copy of treaty/agreement
 All authentic text(s)
 All attachments (annexes, minutes, procesverbales, etc.) constituting an integral part of the
treaty
 Subsequent instruments (e.g., amendments)
 Two additional copies or one electronic copy (CDRom)
 Translations into English and/or
French (if available)
[see Note Verbale LA 41 TR/230/Registration
and Publication Requirements/2010]
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Requirements
Certifying Statement
 confirms that “the text is a true and complete
copy thereof and includes all
reservations/declarations made by the parties
thereto”
 includes:
 Full title of treaty/agreement
 Place and date of conclusion
 Date and method of entry into force for each
party
 All authentic languages
[Regulations to give effect to Article 102 of the
Charter of the United Nations]
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Requirements
Model certifying statement for registration or filing and
recording
I, THE UNDERSIGNED [name of the authority], hereby
certify that the attached text is a true and complete copy of
[title of the agreement, name of the Parties, date and place
of conclusion], that [it includes all reservations made by
Signatories or Parties thereto / no reservations or
declarations or objections were made by the Signatories or
Parties thereto], and that it was concluded in the following
languages: [...]. I further certify that the additional copy of
this Agreement contained on the diskette is a true and
complete copy of [title of the agreement].
I FURTHER CERTIFY that the Agreement came into force on
[date] by [method of entry into force], in accordance with
[article or provision in the agreement], and that it was
signed by [...] and [...].
[Place and date of signature of certifying statement]
[Signature and title of certifying authority]
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Requirements
Subsequent actions
 Multilateral treaties/agreements
Ratification/Accession
Denunciation
Amendment
Termination
 Bilateral treaties
Change in parties
Modification of terms/termination
Change in scope of application
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Requirements
General Assembly resolutions 53/100 of
8 Dec. 1998 and 54/28 of 17 Nov. 1999
 Electronic copy
• CD-ROM
 Courtesy translations into any of the six
official languages
(preferably English/French)
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Communication by the Secretariat
If requirements for registration are
met:
Date of effect of registration =
date of receipt by Secretariat of
the complete submission
Treaty/agreement is assigned a
registration number
Submitter receives a certificate
of registration
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Communication by the Secretariat
If requirements for registration are
not met:
• Submitter is requested to provide
clarifications or submit missing
information, for example:
 Authentic language versions
 Entry into force information
 Missing annexes, protocols, etc.
 Translations and electronic copy
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Summary
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Documentation complete; meets
definition of “treaty” or “international
agreement” under Article 102 of the
Charter and the Regulations
Certifying statement correct and matches
the Agreement itself
Translations/electronic copy submitted
Agreement registered and published
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Publication of treaties and
subsequent actions
Mandate:
Article 102 of the Charter of the
United Nations
 Article 12 of the Regulations to give
effect to Article 102 of the Charter
- Modified by General Assembly
resolutions (most recent 52/153 of
15 Dec. 1997)
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Publication
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Exceptions to publication in extenso
Assistance/cooperation agreements of limited
scope concerning financial, commercial,
administrative or technical matters
Agreements relating to the organization of
conferences, seminars or meetings
Agreements that are to be published elsewhere by
UN Secretariat or specialized or related agency
Lengthy lists of products attached to trade
agreements
Agreements of the European Union are published
only in English and French
[Article 12 of the Regulations to give effect to
Article 102 of the Charter of the United
Nations]
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Publication
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Monthly Statement (available on
the website of the Treaty
Section)
United Nations Treaty Series
Website of the Treaty Section
http://treaties.un.org
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Publication: Monthly Statement
Example of entry
No. 47355. Turkey and Syrian Arab Republic
Agreement between the Government of the
Republic of Turkey and the Government of the
Syrian Arab Republic on international road
transport of passengers and goods. Ankara, 10
May 2004
Entry into force: 15 August 2009 by signature,
in accordance with article 22
Authentic text: English
Registration with the Secretariat of the
United Nations: Turkey, 7 April 2010
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Publication: UN Treaty Series
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Texts of agreements
registered and filed and
recorded with the Secretariat
 including all integral elements, e.g.
protocols, agreed minutes,
attachments and maps)
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All languages of the
registered agreements
 Over 140 languages
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Translations into English
and French
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Publication: UN Treaty Series
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Published in a single series
beginning in 1946
UN Treaty Series is one of only two
publications mandated in the
Charter of the United Nations
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Publication
Requirements for faster publication
of treaties submitted for registration:
• Clean, legible hard copies
submitted
• TRANSLATIONS – into English and
French
• Electronic text (Word, Pdf, etc.)
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Publication: Website
Treaty Section <http://treaties.un.org>
 Full texts of treaties/agreements and
treaty actions
• Including declarations, reservations, etc.
 Search and retrieval capabilities for all
treaties/agreements
 Facility to view, save and print the
full texts
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Treaty Section’s website
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Examples of bilateral treaties by some
AALCO Member States:
• Agreement on the frontier line
between Algeria and Tunisia from Bir
Romane to the Lybian frontier (1970)
• Treaty between the Federal
Republic of Nigeria and the
Republic of Equatorial Guinea
concerning their maritime boundary
(2000)
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Treaty Section’s website
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Examples of bilateral treaties by some
AALCO Member States:
• Agreement on non-aggression and
good neighbourliness (the Accord
of Nkomati, between South Africa
and Mozambique) (1984)
• Border Agreement between the
United Arab Emirates and the
Sultanate of Oman relating to the
boundary sector between Umm alZumul and Eastern Uqaydat (1999)
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Treaty Section’s website
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Examples of bilateral treaties by some
AALCO Member States:
• Agreement on the demarcation of a
fixed boundary between the two
countries in the Naaf River
(Myanmar and Pakistan) (1966)
• Agreement between the Government
of the People’s Republic of China and
the Government of the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea on the
promotion and protection of
investments (2005)
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Assistance provided by the
Office of Legal Affairs
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Legal advice and assistance on
matters of treaty law and practice
Training in treaty law and practice
at UN Headquarters and at the
regional level
Individual assistance provided on
specific treaty-related questions
Reference to substantive offices
and treaty bodies
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Copyright © 2010 by the United
Nations. All rights reserved. No
part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any
form by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise without
the prior written permission of the
United Nations
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