Define International Treaties on Agreement

International treaties have ended wars for hundreds of years, but countries create treaties for many other reasons. More than 158,000 treaties were registered with the United Nations between 1946 and 2005.

Definition

An International treaty is an agreement between two or more countries that involves relations between them.

Terms

International treaties may be called agreements, conventions, pacts, accords, protocols, final acts, general acts or declarations. The exact meaning of each term may vary.

Types

The United Nations records peace treaties; border treaties; delimitation treaties; extradition treaties; and treaties of friendship, commerce and cooperation.

Size

International treaties can be bilateral or multilateral. Bilateral treaties are generally between two countries. However, treaties between Switzerland and the European Union are considered bilateral, even though the European Union represents many nations. Multilateral treaties are among three or more countries.

Enforcement

International treaties must be registered with the United Nations to be enforced by the International Court of Justice. Some treaties require changes in the law to be enforced, while others are seen as "self-executing," meaning that they require no further legislation for compliance.

References

• Types of Treaties

Resources

• U.N. Treaty Database
• Stanford University Treaty Library