Book VII Treaties and Treaty-Making, 32 Treaties and other International Instruments—II Treaty, Convention, Agreement, Protocol

Subject(s):

Diplomatic relations — Sovereignty — Peace treaties — Specific treaties — Governments

This chapter discusses the most common forms of treaty instrument, namely those entitled ‘treaty’, ‘convention’, ‘agreement’, and ‘protocol’. Generally speaking, the designation ‘treaty’ has been reserved for international agreements of a particularly significant character, or to mark the political importance of the particular international agreement. The designation ‘convention’ tends to be utilized for multilateral treaties of a law-making type. The term ‘agreement’, like the term ‘treaty’ itself, is used to cover any meeting of minds, or an agreement intended to be binding, but usually of a less formal or significant nature than a treaty or convention. Finally, the word ‘protocol’ may, depending upon the context in which it is used, signify an addition to a treaty, a summary of official proceedings, or a technique of the proper method of doing things, including official etiquette.