The Legal Status of International Organizations as Third Parties to International Treaties in Accordance to Principle pacta tertiis nec nocent nec prosunt
Abstract
The article is devoted to the genesis of the principle of pacta tertiis nec nocent nec prosunt (treaties do not create either obligations or rights for third states without their consent) in the law of treaties with respect to international organizations. This principle, originated from the Roman law, was enshrined in the existing law of treaties through the relevant provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties between States and International Organizations or Between International Organizations of 1986. The authors reveal a number of defects related to the duplication of provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties between States and International Organizations or Between International Organizations of 1986 concerning the legal consequences of treaties in relation to third parties, originally established in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties in 1969. Such an approach does not allow to cover the whole possible range of international relations with participation of international organizations, especially when it comes to the establishment of obligations and rights of member States of international organizations. In practice, it emerges the questions as to the activities of the secretaries-general of international organizations as depositaries of international treaties, as well as the expenditures of member States relating to the functioning of the organs of international organizations. The article concludes that, in fact, the proper regulatory effect of the provisions of the Vienna Convention of 1986 is only manifested with respect to one of the possible types of third organizations, namely international organizations that are not parties to the relevant international treaty. The issue of the legal effects of treaties concluded by an international organization on its member States stands aside. In this regard, it is suggested that in the near future, addressing the remaining legal uncertainty and the search for legal mechanisms to resolve the mentioned issue will be carried out within the international organizations themselves through the adoption and establishment of their own internal rules of activity.
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