Stages of an international agreement

The stages of an international agreement:

International treaties are nothing more than agreements among sovereign states to assume certain obligations regarding, among others, the protection of copyright. It is crucial to understand how, when and to what extent the provisions of international treaties create binding rules for the countries which signed them and for their citizens. For this reason we shall shortly examine the steps leading to the conclusion of an international treaty and its implementation.

As long as governments agree that they want to regulate a certain issue at an international level, they enter into negotiations. Negotiations can be conducted either ad hoc, such as the Berne Convention, or within the framework of an existing institution, such as the TRIPs agreement, which was the result of the negotiations leading to the creation of the WTO. During the state of the negotiations draft provisions, usually prepared by specific countries or an appointed person, are presented to the delegations of each state, which then discuss them and may propose amendments to their content. Those proposals usually stem from a group of countries that form a coalition in order to defend their common interests more efficiently. For example, the inclusion of the TRIPs agreement was the culmination of a program of intense lobbying by the United States, supported by the European Union, Japan and other developed nations, whereas it was contravened by developing countries, most notably Korea and Brazil, but also Thailand, India and Caribbean states.

Once consensus has been reached the states conclude the treaty by signing it. However the treaty does not enter into force at the moment of its conclusion, but it has to be ratified according to the national law of each country. By ratification we mean the act of giving official sanction or approval to the treaty, which usually follows the same rules as the passing of laws in most democracies. From that moment the provisions of the international agreement enter into force, meaning that the signatory states assume the obligation towards the other countries to implement the provisions of the international agreement.

It is crucial to understand that as a general rule countries are the ones who undertake obligations and not their citizens. Individuals are bound by their national laws that implement the international agreement and not by the treaties themselves(1). The paramount importance of implementing legislation indicates that national legislatures play a significant role, as they determine if, when and to what extent national law needs to change so as to be consistent with the international agreement. However, this flexibility, enjoyed by national legislative bodies, in the implementation of an international agreement depends to a large extent on the content of the provisions of the international agreement: the more general a treaty provision is, the more flexibility a state has in implementing it.

States which didn’t take part in the negotiations of a treaty may still join the treaty later by accession. If the treaty is open to the participation of new member states, accession occurs by the conclusion and ratification of the Treaty by the new member state, without any modification of the original agreement. If this is not the case, accession implies a new agreement between all member parties.

(1) In certain countries, citizens can obtain in certain circumstances rights deriving from international agreements before their implementation and the adoption of national legislation.