Treaties constitute a major source of both public and private international law; it is hardly possible to imagine international law and international relations without them. There is no area of international law that is not, to a lesser or higher extent, regulated by a treaty. This course offers a comprehensive overview of the foundations, principles (including pacta sunt servanda) and sources of the law of international treaties (LIT), clarifies the role of bilateral and multilateral treaties between states as well as treaties of international organizations, and explains the very notion of a “treaty”, together with the key role it plays in the system of international law. The main sources of treaty law such as the Vienna Conventions of 1969 (VCLT), 1978 and 1986 are considered and characterized. Key issues such as the treaty-making process, stages and the role played by domestic law, treaty parties, the relationship between treaties, customary international law and rules of jus cogens, as well as the role of the language in treaty-making are discussed. Furthermore, the course examines forms of treaty conclusion, reservations, functions of the depositary, treaty publication and registration, breach of treaty obligations, and other important elements of the law of treaties. Students will thus be offered a holistic perspective on this crucial part of international law taking into account its influence on the development of the latter as well as its role in the regulation of dynamically evolving international relations of today.
- Teacher: Rustam Atadjanov