Signatory Acceptance Made Easy

Signature law

article 10 of the Vienna Convention provides that failing any other procedure or mechanism agreed by the parties participating in the drawing up of the treaty the signature of the treaty establishes that the negotiated text is authentic and definitive in other words the end of the negotiations result from the signature of the treaty once the treaty is signed its text is final the draft treaty becomes the treaty treaties are usually identified by referring to the place and the date of their signature for instance the Convention on the law of treaties was signed in the city of Vienna on 23 May 1969 and aside from the authentication of the treaty what are the other legal effects deriving from the signature of a treaty well the most important effect is that by signing a treaty a state may express its consent to be bound by the treaty however this important effect does not automatically derive from the signature as article 12 of the Vienna Convention makes clear the signature expresses the consent to be bound by the treaty only when the treaty provides that the signature shall have that effect or it is otherwise established that the negotiating parties were agreed that the signature would have such effect or again that the intention of the negotiating parties to give that effect to the signature appears from the full powers of the representatives involved or such intention was expressed during the negotiations in other words the signature expresses the consent to be bound by the treaty if that is become intent of the negotiating parties if they do not have such an intent the signature cannot be considered as expressing the final consent to be bound by the treaty and in such a case a separate and distinct act will be needed to express to express such consent that additional act is called the ratification of the treaty the ratification may also be called the acceptance approval or accession to the treaty and in each case and as the definition to be found in article 2 of the Vienna Convention reads it is an international act whereby a state or an international organization establishes on the international plain its consent to be bound by the treaty and it is important to stress that as article 11 of the Vienna Convention makes clear there is not one single means of expressing consent to be bound by treaty the contracting parties are free to decide for each treaty which one is to be preferred at the International Court of Justice ruled in the Cameroon vs Nigeria case I quote both custom international law and the Vienna Convention on the law of treaties leave it completely up to states which procedure they want to follow end of quote states may want to the treaty to immediately enter into a force upon its signature and therefore considered that the signature is the act by which consent to be bound by the treaty is...