ABSTRACT
The institutional support of a treaty, in particular the possibility of verification of the respect of the obligations imposed, is often considered instrumental for its effectiveness. This Chapter focuses on three types of actors, namely civil society, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in conjunction with the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, and the International Criminal Court (ICC). It is in general suggested that the strong institutional support on which arms control treaties can count is a characteristic for this category of treaties, contrary for instance to humanitarian law or human rights instruments. Contrary to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), the Ottawa and Oslo Conventions lack traditional verification and implementation mechanisms. The role of civil society in the implementation and verification of these treaties is instrumental, and this is probably best expressed in the broad articles dealing with international cooperation and assistance.
