Editing Treaty (section)

==Modern usage and form==
[[File:Geneva Conventions - signing in 1949.jpg|thumb|The signing of the [[Geneva Conventions]] in 1949. A country's signature, through [[Plenipotentiary|plenipotentiaries]] with "full power" to conclude a treaty, is often sufficient to manifest an intention to be bound by the treaty.]]
A treaty is an official, express written agreement that states use to legally bind themselves.<ref name="ShawIL5th">Shaw, Malcolm. (2003). {{Google books|cc3XzkFt-IUC|''International Law'', pp. 88–92.|page=88}}</ref> It is also the objective outcome of a ceremonial occasion that acknowledges the parties and their defined relationships. There is no prerequisite of academic accreditation or cross-professional contextual knowledge required to publish a treaty.

However, since the late 19th century, most treaties have followed a fairly consistent format. A treaty typically begins with a [[preamble]] describing the "High Contracting Parties" and their shared objectives in executing the treaty, as well as summarizing any underlying events (such as the aftermath of a war in the case of a [[peace treaty]]). Modern preambles are sometimes structured as a single very long sentence formatted into multiple paragraphs for readability, in which each of the paragraphs begins with a [[gerund]] (desiring, recognizing, having, etc.).

The High Contracting Parties—referred to as either the official title of the [[head of state]] (but not including the personal name), e.g. ''His [[Majesty]] The King of X'' or ''His [[Excellency]] The President of Y'', or alternatively in the form of "'' Government of Z''"—are enumerated, along with the full names and titles of their plenipotentiary representatives; a [[boilerplate clause]] describes how each party's representatives have communicated (or exchanged) their "full powers" (i.e., the official documents appointing them to act on behalf of their respective high contracting party) and found them in good or proper form. However, under the [[Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties]] if the representative is the head of state, [[head of government]] or [[minister of foreign affairs]], no special document is needed, as holding such high office is sufficient.

The end of the preamble and the start of the actual agreement is often signaled by the words "have agreed as follows".

After the preamble comes numbered articles, which contain the substance of the parties' actual agreement. Each article heading usually encompasses a paragraph. A long treaty may further group articles under chapter headings.

Modern treaties, regardless of subject matter, usually contain articles governing where the final authentic copies of the treaty will be deposited and how any subsequent disputes as to their interpretation will be peacefully resolved.

The end of a treaty, the [[eschatocol]] (or closing protocol), is often signaled by language such as "in witness whereof" or "in faith whereof", followed by the words "DONE at", then the site(s) of the treaty's execution and the date(s) of its execution. The date is typically written in its most formal, non-numerical form; for example, the [[Charter of the United Nations]] reads "DONE at the city of San Francisco the twenty-sixth day of June, one thousand nine hundred and forty-five". If applicable, a treaty will note that it is executed in multiple copies in different languages, with a stipulation that the versions in different languages are equally authentic.

The signatures of the parties' representatives follow at the very end. When the text of a treaty is later reprinted, such as in a collection of treaties currently in effect, an editor will often append the dates on which the respective parties ratified the treaty and on which it came into effect for each party.

===Bilateral and multilateral treaties===
[[Bilateral treaty|Bilateral treaties]] are concluded between two states or entities.<ref name="nicholson135">Nicolson, Harold. (1934). ''Diplomacy,'' p. 135.</ref> It is possible for a bilateral treaty to have more than two parties; for example, each of the bilateral treaties between [[Switzerland]] and the [[European Union]] (EU) has seventeen parties: The parties are divided into two groups, the Swiss ("on the one part") and the EU and its member states ("on the other part"). The treaty establishes rights and obligations between the Swiss and the EU and the member states severally—it does not establish any rights and obligations amongst the EU and its member states.{{citation needed|date=November 2010}}

A [[multilateral treaty]] is concluded among several countries, establishing rights and obligations between each party and every other party.<ref name="nicholson135"/> Multilateral treaties may be regional or may involve states across the world.<ref>{{cite web|title=Multilateral Treaties/Agreements|website=refworld.org|date=2013|url=https://www.refworld.org/type,MULTILATERALTREATY,SAARC,,,,0.html|access-date=20 July 2019|archive-date=20 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720070951/https://www.refworld.org/type,MULTILATERALTREATY,SAARC,,,,0.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Treaties of "mutual guarantee" are international compacts, e.g., the [[Treaty of Locarno]] which guarantees each signatory against attack from another.<ref name="nicholson135"/>

===Role of the United Nations===
The United Nations has extensive power to convene states to enact large-scale multilateral treaties and has experience doing so.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gostin|first1=Lawrence O.|last2=Halabi|first2=Sam F.|last3=Klock|first3=Kevin A.|date=2021-09-15|title=An International Agreement on Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2784418|journal=JAMA|volume=326|issue=13|pages=1257–1258|language=en|doi=10.1001/jama.2021.16104|pmid=34524388|issn=0098-7484|doi-access=free|access-date=22 September 2021|archive-date=21 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921104548/https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2784418|url-status=live}}</ref> Under the [[United Nations Charter]], which is itself a treaty, treaties must be registered with the UN to be invoked before it, or enforced in its judiciary organ, the [[International Court of Justice]]. This was done to prevent the practice of [[secret treaty|secret treaties]], which proliferated in the 19th and 20th centuries and often precipitated or exacerbated conflict. Article 103 of the Charter also states that its members' obligations under the Charter outweigh any competing obligations under other treaties.

After their adoption, treaties, as well as their amendments, must follow the official legal procedures of the United Nations, as applied by the [[United Nations Office of Legal Affairs|Office of Legal Affairs]], including signature, [[ratification]] and [[entry into force]].

In function and effectiveness, the UN has been compared to the United States federal government under the [[Articles of Confederation]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sobel|first=Russell S.|date=1999|title=In Defense of the Articles of Confederation and the Contribution Mechanism as a Means of Government Finance: A General Comment on the Literature|journal=Public Choice|volume=99|issue=3/4|pages=347–356|doi=10.1023/A:1018308819035|issn=0048-5829|jstor=30024532|s2cid=40008813}}</ref>