Article 18 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties obligations and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (‘CTBT’ or the ‘Treaty’),¹ labelled by United States (‘US’) President Bill Clinton as the ‘longest-sought, hardest-fought prize in arms control history’,² was opened for signature on 24 September 1996. As of June 2019, it has been signed by 184 states, and ratified by 167 states, including France, Russia and the United Kingdom (‘UK’), but not China or the United States.