ABSTRACT
The rules of law relating to the functioning of international institutions or organizations, their relations with each other, and their relations with States and individuals. The rules of international law concerning treaties were to a large extent codified and reformulated in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties concluded on 23 May 1969. The US Department of State declared in 1971 that the Vienna Convention was “recognised as the authoritative guide to current treaty law and practice”. Interpretation of treaties by domestic courts depends on the applicable domestic law which in turn may apply treaty law such as that found in the Vienna Convention. Termination or suspension of a treaty depends on its express terms, the Vienna Convention and public international law generally. The more States who are parties to a multi-lateral treaty, the less bite it may have. It may therefore be “declaratory” or a restatement of an existing law.
