Termination and Suspension of Treaties

In one line

A treaty ends by its own terms, by consent, by material breach, by supervening impossibility, by fundamental change of circumstances, or by conflict with a new peremptory norm, and the last three are pleaded far more often than they succeed.

By the treaty or by consent: articles 54 to 58

Article 54. Termination or the withdrawal of a party may take place in conformity with the provisions of the treaty, or at any time by consent of all the parties after consultation with the other contracting States.

Most treaties end this way. A denunciation clause, a fixed term, a resolutory condition, or agreement to bring the treaty to an end.

Article 55. Unless the treaty otherwise provides, a multilateral treaty does not terminate by reason only of the number of parties falling below the number necessary for its entry into force. Entry into force needed a threshold; continuance does not.

Article 56, the silent treaty

Where a treaty contains no provision regarding termination and does not provide for denunciation or withdrawal, it is not subject to denunciation or withdrawal unless:

(a) it is established that the parties intended to admit the possibility; or

(b) a right of denunciation or withdrawal may be implied by the nature of the treaty.

Article 56(2). A party must give not less than twelve months' notice.

The presumption is against a right to leave. Under (b), a right is implied by the nature of some treaties, alliances and commercial treaties among them, and is not implied in others, boundary and peace treaties in particular, and human rights covenants have been held by their supervisory bodies to admit no withdrawal.

Article 57, suspension, mirrors article 54: by the treaty's provisions, or by consent of all the parties after consultation with the other contracting States.

Article 58, suspension between some parties only, mirrors article 41 in [Rights and Duties of the Parties, and Third States]: two or more parties may agree to suspend provisions temporarily and as between themselves alone if the treaty provides for it, or if it is not prohibited and does not affect the enjoyment by the other parties of their rights or the performance of their obligations and is not incompatible with the object and purpose of the treaty, with notification to the other parties.

Article 59, termination implied by a later treaty. A treaty is considered terminated if all the parties conclude a later treaty on the same subject matter and either it appears that they intended the matter to be governed by the later treaty, or the later provisions are so far incompatible that the two are not capable of being applied at the same time. If the intention was suspension only, article 59(2) treats the earlier treaty as suspended. This is the article article 30(3) refers to.