Termination of Treaties
• Termination of treaties by operation of Law
• Termination by act(s) of state parties
By operation of law
• Extinction of either party to bilateral treaty
– May be in issue of state succession
• Extinction of entire subject matter of treaty
• Outbreak of war between parties
• In bilateral agreement, Material breach by one party entitle other to terminate or suspend
• Impossibility of performance (art. 61) – Due to permanent disappearance or destruction of object indispensable for the execution of the treaty
– Limitation :
• Such impossibility should not be due to breach of treaty itself
• Or of any other international obligation committed by the party which seeks to terminate the treaty upon ground of impossibility
• Fundamental Change in Circumstances (Art. 62) – Rebus sic stantibus
– To the effect that the treaty obligation subsist only so long as the essential circumstances remain unchanged
– Elements :
• Such change has occurred
• Which was not foreseen by parties
• Existence of such circumstances constituted an essential basis of content
• Effect of the change is radically to transform the extent of obligation still to be performed
– Limitation
• If treaty establishes a boundary
• If change is the result of a breach by the party invoking it either of an obligation under the treaty or of any international obligation
• Party may invoke a fundamental change of circumstance as ground for terminating or withdrawing from a treaty it may also invoke the change as ground for suspending the operation of treaty.
• Expiration of time (time bound treaty)
• Successive denunciation (if results into less than the parties required for force) • Violation of new peremptory norms
• Task bound treaty
= completion of task
Termination by act of parties
• Withdrawal in conformity with provision of treaty
• Consent and consultation
• All parties conclude a treaty to terminate
• Notice of termination
• Denunciation
– Notification by a state to other states parties that it intends to withdraw from the treaty
– Not always allowed
– need to see the specific treaty