Treaties : The British practice regarding treaties is different from that regarding customary law. The main reason for this is that the conclusion and ratification of treaties are matters for the executive, coming as they do under the scope of the prerogative. Parliament has no say in the making of treaties. If they were to have direct effect, the Crown could alter the law without recourse to Parliament:

doi:10.4324/9781843143802-12

Chapter

ABSTRACT

A treaty is a contract between the governments of two or more sovereign states. International law regulates the relations between sovereign states and determines the validity, the interpretation and the enforcement of treaties. A treaty to which Her Majesty’s government is a party does not alter the laws of the United Kingdom. A treaty may be incorporated into and alter the laws of the United Kingdom by means of legislation. Except to the extent that a treaty becomes incorporated into the laws of the United Kingdom by statute, the courts of the United Kingdom have no power to enforce treaty rights and obligations at the behest of a sovereign government or at the behest of a private individual.19