Vienna Convention on Succession of States in Respect of Treaties

The Vienna Convention on Succession of States in Respect of Treaties is an international treaty opened for signature in 1978 to set rules on succession of states. It was adopted partly in response to the "profound transformation of the international community brought about by the decolonization process". It entered into force on 6 November 1996, which was triggered by the succession of the Republic of North Macedonia to the treaty giving it the requisite 15 parties.[1]

Vienna Convention on Succession of States in Respect of Treaties
  Parties
  Signatories
  Non-parties
SignedAugust 23, 1978
LocationVienna
EffectiveNovember 6, 1996
Condition15 ratifications
Parties23[1]
DepositarySecretary-General of the United Nations
LanguagesArabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish
Full text at Wikisource
States succession in respect of treaties (1978)

The treaty has proven to be controversial largely because it distinguishes between "newly independent states" (a euphemism for former colonies) and "cases of separation of parts of a state" (a euphemism for all other new states).

Article 16 states that newly independent states receive a "clean slate", such that the new state does not inherit the treaty obligations of the colonial power, whereas article 34(1) states that all other new states remain bound by the treaty obligations of the state from which they separated. Moreover, article 17 states that newly independent states may join multilateral treaties to which their former colonizers were a party without the consent of the other parties in most circumstances, whereas article 9 states that all other new states may only join multilateral treaties to which their predecessor states were a part with the consent of the other parties.

Parties to the convention

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As of February 2019, there are 23 state parties which have ratified the convention. A further 14 states signed the convention but have not ratified it.[1]

List of parties

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State[1] Signed Deposited Method
  Bosnia and Herzegovina Jul 22, 1993 Succession from   Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
  Brazil Aug 23, 1978 Feb 7, 2019
  Croatia Oct 22, 1992 Succession from   Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
  Cyprus Mar 12, 2004 Accession
  Czech Republic Feb 22, 1993 Jul 26, 1999 Ratification
Succession to the signature of   Czechoslovakia
  Dominica Jun 24, 1988 Accession
  Ecuador Jul 25, 2006 Accession
  Egypt Jul 17, 1986 Accession
  Estonia Oct 21, 1991 Accession
  Ethiopia Aug 23, 1978 May 28, 1980 Ratification
  Iraq May 23, 1979 Dec 5, 1979 Ratification
  Liberia Sep 16, 2005 Accession
  Moldova Feb 9, 2009 Accession
  Montenegro Oct 23, 2006 Succession from   Serbia and Montenegro
  Morocco Mar 31, 1983 Accession
  North Macedonia Oct 7, 1996 Succession from   Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Apr 27, 1999 Accession
  Serbia Mar 12, 2001 Succession as   Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from   Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
  Seychelles Feb 22, 1980 Accession
  Slovakia May 28, 1993 Apr 24, 1995 Ratification
Succession to the signature of   Czechoslovakia
  Slovenia Jul 6, 1992 Succession from   Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
  Tunisia Sep 16, 1981 Accession
  Ukraine Oct 26, 1992 Accession

List of signatory states

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State[1] Signed
  Angola Aug 23, 1978
  Chile Aug 23, 1978
  Côte d'Ivoire Aug 23, 1978
  DR Congo Aug 23, 1978
  Holy See Aug 23, 1978
  Madagascar Aug 23, 1978
  Niger Aug 23, 1978
  Pakistan Jan 10, 1979
  Paraguay Aug 31, 1979
  Peru Aug 30, 1978
  Poland Aug 16, 1979
  Senegal Aug 23, 1978
  Sudan Aug 23, 1978
  Uruguay Aug 23, 1978

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Vienna Convention on succession of States in respect of treaties". United Nations Treaty Series. 2013-07-26. Retrieved 2013-07-26.