Editorial treatment of information concerning international instruments (treaties and usages)

Date of adhesion or ratification

The terms « adhesion » and « ratification », in the framework of the editorial treatment of information relative to the instruments, refer to the various means by which a State becomes party to a convention: participation, adhesion, acceptance, approbation, ratification, succession, etc. Thus, the date of adhesion or ratification corresponds to the date of deposit of the instrument with regard to either action, by each State, with the depositary concerned.

Date on which the State becomes party to the instrument

The expression "date on which the State becomes party", used by certain depositaries such as WIPO for example, corresponds to the date of entry into force of a convention.

Reservation or declaration

The expression "reservation or declaration" indicates any communication by a State party which refers to a specific provision of a convention.

Other types of reservation or declaration

The existence of other reservations or communications is indicated by the words "other type of reservation or declaration". These will usually be political or interpretative declarations such as, for example, communications concerning the Land of Berlin. Communications concerning the retrocession of Hong Kong to China also appear under this expression, as well as certain territorial extensions put forward in the framework of conventions which do not expressly allow for this possibility.

Succession and reservations

When an instrument of succession is deposited, reservations are mentioned if and only if, the preceding State had expressed one or more reservations or declarations. However, such reservations or declarations are not analyzed by Juris International.

Participation by virtue of another agreement

Certain States are automatically party to a convention by virtue of a previous agreement with another State. In these cases, a notice appears under the name of the other State. This applies in particular to the customs agreement between Switzerland and Liechtenstein, which links Liechtenstein to the customs conventions to which Switzerland is party. The following notice thus appears under Switzerland : "Reservation or declaration concerning Liechtenstein".

Withdrawal or modification of a reservation

When a State party to a convention withdraws one or more reservations or declarations expressed with regard to a provision of a convention, Juris International indicates that one or more withdrawals have been made. However, the content of the withdrawn communication is not analyzed.

The asterisk (*)

The asterisk replaces any information which Juris International was unable to obtain, or which was uncertain. For example, the following date of ratification or adhesion indicates the year and the month of the deposition of the instrument, but not the exact day: 1997/04/**. The missing information will be added as circumstances allow.