ABSTRACT
This chapter explains that sovereignty was closely safeguarded in traditional disarmament treaties. It shows that the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is distinct from these classic disarmament treaties in its founding philosophy and in the nature of its obligations. The chapter examines a presentation of the legal structure of the CWC, specific obligations in the CWC and related State practice. It suggests that the constraints on sovereignty in the CWC, in the sense that has been defined, are greater than in other disarmament treaties typically discussed, albeit with some qualifications. The new possibilities and implications that the end of the Cold War offered for international law, however, changed this perception substantially. The interdependent nature of obligations was very clear in the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT). The withdrawal clause of the PTBT was a prototype that incorporated the principle of auto-interpretation into it.
