Jump to Content Jump to Main Navigation

Part VI Avoiding or Exiting Treaty Commitments, 23 The Validity and Invalidity of Treaties

Jan Klabbers

From: The Oxford Guide to Treaties (2nd Edition)

Edited By: Duncan B. Hollis

From: Oxford Public International Law (http://opil.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2023. All Rights Reserved.date: 22 September 2023

Subject(s):
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties — Treaties, invalidity, termination, suspension, withdrawal

The validity or invalidity of treaties is a topic with no practical significance. And yet, the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) would have had a gaping hole in its middle if it had not paid any attention to the validity or invalidity of treaties: no legal system can do without rules on the validity of legal instruments, be it legislation, contracts, or treaties. This chapter discusses the rules on validity of treaties as laid down in the VCLT, paying attention to the corresponding position under the 1986 Vienna Convention as well as the presence (or lack) of relevant State practice. It addresses a few peculiarities about the function of validity that underlies the Vienna Convention(s), starting with some general reflections on validity, inspired by the curious circumstance that each and every lawyer will have some intuitive understanding of what validity refers to, yet scholarly exposés on validity are few and far between.

Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content. Please, subscribe or login to access all content.