Part VI Avoiding or Exiting Treaty Commitments, 24 Reacting against Treaty Breaches

Subject(s):

Consular relations — Treaties, breach — Pacta sunt servanda

This chapter considers whether international law provides means and methods to respond to alleged treaty breaches. It does so in four steps. First, it provides an overview of the international regime governing reactions against treaty breaches. The next two sections analyse the two most relevant generally available means of response under the law of treaties and the law of State responsibility, respectively. The final section offers some concluding observations. In addressing questions of treaty breaches and responses, the chapter focuses on rules of international law regulating inter-State behaviour. Notwithstanding this restriction, it seems clear that treaty breaches can be committed by and against different (non-State) subjects of international law, notably by and against international organizations. While these raise some special problems, they are in principle subject to the rules developed to govern inter-State relations.