to the members of the national groups appointed under Article
4, paragraph 2, inviting them to undertake, within a given time,
STATUTE OF THE INTERNATIONAL
COURT OF JUSTICE
CHAPTER I: ORGANIZATION OF THE COURT (Articles 2 - 33)
CHAPTER II: COMPETENCE OF THE COURT (Articles 34 - 38)
CHAPTER III: PROCEDURE (Articles 39 - 64)
CHAPTER IV: ADVISORY OPINIONS (Articles 65 - 68)
CHAPTER V: AMENDMENT (Articles 69 & 70)
Article 1
The International Court of Justice established by the Charter of
the United Nations as the principal judicial organ of the United
Nations shall be constituted and shall function in accordance with
the provisions of the present Statute.
CHAPTER I
ORGANIZATION OF THE COURT
Article 2
The Court shall be composed of a body of independent judges,
elected regardless of their nationality from among persons of high
moral character, who possess the qualifications required in their
respective countries for appointment to the highest judicial offices,
or are jurisconsults of recognized competence in international law.
Article 3
1. The Court shall consist of fifteen members, no two of whom
may be nationals of the same state.
2. A person who for the purposes of membership in the Court
could be regarded as a national of more than one state shall be
deemed to be a national of the one in which he ordinarily
exercises civil and political rights.
Article 4
1. The members of the Court shall be elected by the General
Assembly and by the Security Council from a list of persons
nominated by the national groups in the Permanent Court of
Arbitration, in accordance with the following provisions.
2. In the case of Members of the United Nations not represented
in the Permanent Court of Arbitration, candidates shall be
nominated by national groups appointed for this purpose by their
governments under the same conditions as those prescribed for
members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration by Article 44 of
the Convention of The Hague of 1907 for the pacific settlement of
international disputes.
3. The conditions under which a state which is a party to the
present Statute but is not a Member of the United Nations may
participate in electing the members of the Court shall, in the
absence of a special agreement, be laid down by the General
Assembly upon recommendation of the Security Council.
Article 5
1. At least three months before the date of the election, the
Secretary-General of the United Nations shall address a written
request to the members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration
belonging to the states which are parties to the present Statute, and
by national groups, the nomination of persons in a position to
accept the duties of a member of the Court.
2. No group may nominate more than four persons, not more
than two of whom shall be of their own nationality. In no case
may the number of candidates nominated by a group be more
than double the number of seats to be filled.
Article 6
Before making these nominations, each national group is
recommended to consult its highest court of justice, its legal
faculties and schools of law, and its national academies and
national sections of international academies devoted to the
study of law.
Article 7
1. The Secretary-General shall prepare a list in alphabetical
order of all the persons thus nominated. Save as provided in
Article 12, paragraph 2, these shall be the only persons eligible.
2. The Secretary-General shall submit this list to the General
Assembly and to the Security Council.
Article 8
The General Assembly and the Security Council shall proceed
independently of one another to elect the members of the Court.
Article 9
At every election, the electors shall bear in mind not only that
the persons to be elected should individually possess the
qualifications required, but also that in the body as a whole the
representation of the main forms of civilization and of the
principal legal systems of the world should be assured.
Article 10
1. Those candidates who obtain an absolute majority of votes
in the General Assembly and in the Security Council shall be
considered as elected.
2. Any vote of the Security Council, whether for the election of
judges or for the appointment of members of the conference
envisaged in Article 12, shall be taken without any distinction
between permanent and non-permanent members of the
Security Council.
3. In the event of more than one national of the same state
obtaining an absolute majority of the votes both of the General
Assembly and of the Security Council, the eldest of these only
shall be considered as elected.
Article 11
If, after the first meeting held for the purpose of the election,
one or more seats remain to be filled, a second and, if
necessary, a third meeting shall take place.
Article 12
1. If, after the third meeting, one or more seats still remain
unfilled, a joint conference consisting of six members, three
appointed by the General Assembly and three by the Security
Council, may be formed at any time at the request of either the
General Assembly or the Security Council, for the purpose of
choosing by the vote of an absolute majority one name for each
seat still vacant, to submit to the General Assembly and the
Security Council for their respective acceptance.
2. If the joint conference is unanimously agreed upon any person
who fulfills the required conditions, he may be included in its list,
even though he was not included in the list of nominations
referred to in Article 7.
3. If the joint conference is satisfied that it will not be successful
in procuring an election, those members of the Court who have
already been elected shall, within a period to be fixed by the
Security Council, proceed to fill the vacant seats by selection from
among those candidates who have obtained votes either in the
General Assembly or in the Security Council.
4. In the event of an equality of votes among the judges, the eldest
judge shall have a casting vote.
Article 13
1. The members of the Court shall be elected for nine years and
may be re-elected; provided, however, that of the judges elected at
the first election, the terms of five judges shall expire at the end of
three years and the terms of five more judges shall expire at the
end of six years.
2. The judges whose terms are to expire at the end of the above-
mentioned initial periods of three and six years shall be chosen by
lot to be drawn by the Secretary-General immediately after the
first election has been completed.
3. The members of the Court shall continue to discharge their
duties until their places have been filled. Though replaced, they
shall finish any cases which they may have begun.
4. In the case of the resignation of a member of the Court, the
resignation shall be addressed to the President of the Court for
transmission to the Secretary-General. This last notification makes
the place vacant.
Article 14
Vacancies shall be filled by the same method as that laid down for
the first election, subject to the following provision: the Secretary-
General shall, within one month of the occurrence of the vacancy,
proceed to issue the invitations provided for in Article 5, and the
date of the election shall be fixed by the Security Council.
Article 15
A member of the Court elected to replace a member whose term
of office has not expired shall hold office for the remainder of his
predecessor's term.
Article 16
1. No member of the Court may exercise any political or
administrative function, or engage in any other occupation of a
professional nature.
2. Any doubt on this point shall be settled by the decision of the
Court.
Article 17
1. No member of the Court may act as agent, counsel, or advocate
in any case.
2. No member may participate in the decision of any case in
which he has previously taken part as agent, counsel, or
advocate for one of the parties, or as a member of a national or
international court, or of a commission of enquiry, or in any
other capacity.
3. Any doubt on this point shall be settled by the decision of
the Court.
Article 18
1. No member of the Court can be dismissed unless, in the
unanimous opinion of the other members, he has ceased to
fulfill the required conditions.
2. Formal notification thereof shall be made to the Secretary-
General by the Registrar.
3. This notification makes the place vacant.
Article 19
The members of the Court, when engaged on the business of
the Court, shall enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities.
Article 20
Every member of the Court shall, before taking up his duties,
make a solemn declaration in open court that he will exercise
his powers impartially and conscientiously.
Article 21
1. The Court shall elect its President and Vice-President for
three years; they may be re-elected.
2. The Court shall appoint its Registrar and may provide for the
appointment of such other officers as may be necessary.
Article 22
1. The seat of the Court shall be established at The Hague. This,
however, shall not prevent the Court from sitting and
exercising its functions elsewhere whenever the Court
considers it desirable.
2. The President and the Registrar shall reside at the seat of the
Court.
Article 23
1. The Court shall remain permanently in session, except
during the judicial vacations, the dates and duration of which
shall be fixed by the Court.
2. Members of the Court are entitled to periodic leave, the
dates and duration of which shall be fixed by the Court, having
in mind the distance between The Hague and the home of each
judge.
3. Members of the Court shall be bound, unless they are on
leave or prevented from attending by illness or other serious
reasons duly explained to the President, to hold themselves
permanently at the disposal of the Court.
Article 24
1. If, for some special reason, a member of the Court considers
that he should not take part in the decision of a particular case,
he shall so inform the President.
2. If the President considers that for some special reason one of
the members of the Court should not sit in a particular case, he
shall give him notice accordingly.
3. If in any such case the member of the Court and the President
disagree, the matter shall be settled by the decision of the Court.
Article 25
1. The full Court shall sit except when it is expressly provided
otherwise in the present Statute.
2. Subject to the condition that the number of judges available to
constitute the Court is not thereby reduced below eleven, the
Rules of the Court may provide for allowing one or more judges,
according to circumstances and in rotation, to be dispensed from
sitting.
3. A quorum of nine judges shall suffice to constitute the Court.
Article 26
1. The Court may from time to time form one or more chambers,
composed of three or more judges as the Court may determine, for
dealing with particular categories of cases; for example, labour
cases and cases relating to transit and communications.
2. The Court may at any time form a chamber for dealing with a
particular case. The number of judges to constitute such a
chamber shall be determined by the Court with the approval of the
parties.
3. Cases shall be heard and determined by the chambers provided
for in this article if the parties so request.
Article 27
A judgment given by any of the chambers provided for in Articles
26 and 29 shall be considered as rendered by the Court.
Article 28
The chambers provided for in Articles 26 and 29 may, with the
consent of the parties, sit and exercise their functions elsewhere
than at The Hague.
Article 29
With a view to the speedy dispatch of business, the Court shall
form annually a chamber composed of five judges which, at the
request of the parties, may hear and determine cases by summary
procedure. In addition, two judges shall be selected for the
purpose of replacing judges who find it impossible to sit.
Article 30
1. The Court shall frame rules for carrying out its functions. In
particular, it shall lay down rules of procedure.
2. The Rules of the Court may provide for assessors to sit with the
Court or with any of its chambers, without the right to vote.
Article 31
1. Judges of the nationality of each of the parties shall retain their
right to sit in the case before the Court.
2. If the Court includes upon the Bench a judge of the nationality
of one of the parties, any other party may choose a person to sit as
judge. Such person shall be chosen preferably from among those
persons who have been nominated as candidates as provided in
Articles 4 and 5.
3. If the Court includes upon the Bench no judge of the
nationality of the parties, each of these parties may proceed to
choose a judge as provided in paragraph 2 of this Article.
4. The provisions of this Article shall apply to the case of
Articles 26 and 29. In such cases, the President shall request
one or, if necessary, two of the members of the Court forming
the chamber to give place to the members of the Court of the
nationality of the parties concerned, and, failing such, or if they
are unable to be present, to the judges specially chosen by the
parties.
5. Should there be several parties in the same interest, they
shall, for the purpose of the preceding provisions, be reckoned
as one party only. Any doubt upon this point shall be settled by
the decision of the Court.
6. Judges chosen as laid down in paragraphs 2, 3, and 4 of this
Article shall fulfill the conditions required by Articles 2, 17
(paragraph 2), 20, and 24 of the present Statute. They shall take
part in the decision on terms of complete equality with their
colleagues.
Article 32
1. Each member of the Court shall receive an annual salary.
2. The President shall receive a special annual allowance.
3. The Vice-President shall receive a special allowance for
every day on which he acts as President.
4. The judges chosen under Article 31, other than members of
the Court, shall receive compensation for each day on which
they exercise their functions.
5. These salaries, allowances, and compensation shall be fixed
by the General Assembly. They may not be decreased during
the term of office.
6. The salary of the Registrar shall be fixed by the General
Assembly on the proposal of the Court.
7. Regulations made by the General Assembly shall fix the
conditions under which retirement pensions may be given to
members of the Court and to the Registrar, and the conditions
under which members of the Court and the Registrar shall have
their travelling expenses refunded.
8. The above salaries, allowances, and compensation shall be
free of all taxation.
Article 33
The expenses of the Court shall be borne by the United Nations
in such a manner as shall be decided by the General Assembly.
CHAPTER II
COMPETENCE OF THE COURT
Article 34
1. Only states may be parties in cases before the Court.
2. The Court, subject to and in conformity with its Rules, may
request of public international organizations information
relevant to cases before it, and shall receive such information
presented by such organizations on their own initiative.
3. Whenever the construction of the constituent instrument of a
public international organization or of an international convention
adopted thereunder is in question in a case before the Court, the
Registrar shall so notify the public international organization
concerned and shall communicate to it copies of all the written
proceedings.
Article 35
1. The Court shall be open to the states parties to the present
Statute.
2. The conditions under which the Court shall be open to other
states shall, subject to the special provisions contained in treaties
in force, be laid down by the Security Council, but in no case shall
such conditions place the parties in a position of inequality before
the Court.
3. When a state which is not a Member of the United Nations is a
party to a case, the Court shall fix the amount which that party is
to contribute towards the expenses of the Court. This provision
shall not apply if such state is bearing a share of the expenses of
the Court
Article 36
1. The jurisdiction of the Court comprises all cases which the
parties refer to it and all matters specially provided for in the
Charter of the United Nations or in treaties and conventions in
force.
2. The states parties to the present Statute may at any time declare
that they recognize as compulsory ipso facto and without special
agreement, in relation to any other state accepting the same
obligation, the jurisdiction of the Court in all legal disputes
concerning:
a. the interpretation of a treaty;
b. any question of international law;
c. the existence of any fact which, if established, would
constitute a breach of an international obligation;
d. the nature or extent of the reparation to be made for the
breach of an international obligation.
3. The declarations referred to above may be made
unconditionally or on condition of reciprocity on the part of
several or certain states, or for a certain time.
4. Such declarations shall be deposited with the Secretary-General
of the United Nations, who shall transmit copies thereof to the
parties to the Statute and to the Registrar of the Court.
5. Declarations made under Article 36 of the Statute of the
Permanent Court of International Justice and which are still in
force shall be deemed, as between the parties to the present
Statute, to be acceptances of the compulsory jurisdiction of the
International Court of Justice for the period which they still have
to run and in accordance with their terms.
6. In the event of a dispute as to whether the Court has jurisdiction,
the matter shall be settled by the decision of the Court.
Article 37
Whenever a treaty or convention in force provides for
reference of a matter to a tribunal to have been instituted by the
League of Nations, or to the Permanent Court of International
Justice, the matter shall, as between the parties to the present
Statute, be referred to the International Court of Justice.
Article 38
1. The Court, whose function is to decide in accordance with
international law such disputes as are submitted to it, shall
apply:
a. international conventions, whether general or
particular, establishing rules expressly recognized by
the contesting states;
b. international custom, as evidence of a general
practice accepted as law;
c. the general principles of law recognized by civilized
nations;
d. subject to the provisions of Article 59, judicial
decisions and the teachings of the most highly
qualified publicists of the various nations, as
subsidiary means for the determination of rules of
law.
2. This provision shall not prejudice the power of the Court to
decide a case ex aequo et bono, if the parties agree thereto.
CHAPTER III
PROCEDURE
Article 39
1. The official languages of the Court shall be French and
English. If the parties agree that the case shall be conducted in
French, the judgment shall be delivered in French. If the parties
agree that the case shall be conducted in English, the judgment
shall be delivered in English.
2. In the absence of an agreement as to which language shall be
employed, each party may, in the pleadings, use the language
which it prefers; the decision of the Court shall be given in
French and English. In this case the Court shall at the same
time determine which of the two texts shall be considered as
authoritative.
3. The Court shall, at the request of any party, authorize a
language other than French or English to be used by that party.
Article 40
1. Cases are brought before the Court, as the case may be,
either by the notification of the special agreement or by a
written application addressed to the Registrar. In either case the
subject of the dispute and the parties shall be indicated.
2. The Registrar shall forthwith communicate the application to
all concerned.
3. He shall also notify the Members of the United Nations
through the Secretary-General, and also any other states
entitled to appear before the Court.
 Article 41
1. The Court shall have the power to indicate, if it considers that
circumstances so require, any provisional measures which ought
to be taken to preserve the respective rights of either party.
2. Pending the final decision, notice of the measures suggested
shall forthwith be given to the parties and to the Security Council.
Article 42
1. The parties shall be represented by agents.
2. They may have the assistance of counsel or advocates before
the Court.
3. The agents, counsel, and advocates of parties before the Court
shall enjoy the privileges and immunities necessary to the
independent exercise of their duties.
Article 43
1. The procedure shall consist of two parts: written and oral.
2. The written proceedings shall consist of the communication to
the Court and to the parties of memorials, counter-memorials and,
if necessary, replies; also all papers and documents in support.
3. These communications shall be made through the Registrar, in
the order and within the time fixed by the Court.
4. A certified copy of every document produced by one party shall
be communicated to the other party.
5. The oral proceedings shall consist of the hearing by the Court
of witnesses, experts, agents, counsel, and advocates.
Article 44
1. For the service of all notices upon persons other than the agents,
counsel, and advocates, the Court shall apply direct to the
government of the state upon whose territory the notice has to be
served.
2. The same provision shall apply whenever steps are to be taken
to procure evidence on the spot.
Article 45
The hearing shall be under the control of the President or, if he is
unable to preside, of the Vice-President; if neither is able to
preside, the senior judge present shall preside.
Article 46
The hearing in Court shall be public, unless the Court shall decide
otherwise, or unless the parties demand that the public be not
admitted .
Article 47
1. Minutes shall be made at each hearing and signed by the
Registrar and the President.
2. These minutes alone shall be authentic.
Article 48
The Court shall make orders for the conduct of the case, shall
decide the form and time in which each party must conclude its
arguments, and make all arrangements connected with the taking
of evidence.
Article 49
The Court may, even before the hearing begins, call upon the
agents to produce any document or to supply any explanations.
Formal note shall be taken of any refusal.
Article 50
The Court may, at any time, entrust any individual, body,
bureau, commission, or other organization that it may select,
with the task of carrying out an enquiry or giving an expert
opinion.
Article 51
During the hearing any relevant questions are to be put to the
witnesses and experts under the conditions laid down by the
Court in the rules of procedure referred to in Article 30.
Article 52
After the Court has received the proofs and evidence within the
time specified for the purpose, it may refuse to accept any
further oral or written evidence that one party may desire to
present unless the other side consents.
Article 53
1. Whenever one of the parties does not appear before the
Court, or fails to defend its case, the other party may call upon
the Court to decide in favour of its claim.
2. The Court must, before doing so, satisfy itself, not only that
it has jurisdiction in accordance with Articles 36 and 37, but
also that the claim is well founded in fact and law.
Article 54
1. When, subject to the control of the Court, the agents, counsel,
and advocates have completed their presentation of the case,
the President shall declare the hearing closed.
2. The Court shall withdraw to consider the judgment.
3. The deliberations of the Court shall take place in private and
remain secret.
Article 55
1. All questions shall be decided by a majority of the judges
present.
2. In the event of an equality of votes, the President or the
judge who acts in his place shall have a casting vote.
Article 56
1. The judgment shall state the reasons on which it is based.
2. It shall contain the names of the judges who have taken part
in the decision.
Article 57
If the judgment does not represent in whole or in part the
unanimous opinion of the judges, any judge shall be entitled to
deliver a separate opinion.
 Article 58
The judgment shall be signed by the President and by the
Registrar. It shall be read in open court, due notice having been
given to the agents.
Article 59
The decision of the Court has no binding force except between the
parties and in respect of that particular case.
Article 60
The judgment is final and without appeal. In the event of dispute
as to the meaning or scope of the judgment, the Court shall
construe it upon the request of any party.
Article 61
1. An application for revision of a judgment may be made only
when it is based upon the discovery of some fact of such a nature
as to be a decisive factor, which fact was, when the judgment was
given, unknown to the Court and also to the party claiming
revision, always provided that such ignorance was not due to
negligence.
2. The proceedings for revision shall be opened by a judgment of
the Court expressly recording the existence of the new fact,
recognizing that it has such a character as to lay the case open to
revision, and declaring the application admissible on this ground.
3. The Court may require previous compliance with the terms of
the judgment before it admits proceedings in revision.
4. The application for revision must be made at latest within six
months of the discovery of the new fact.
5. No application for revision may be made after the lapse of ten
years from the date of the judgment.
Article 62
l. Should a state consider that it has an interest of a legal nature
which may be affected by the decision in the case, it may submit a
request to the Court to be permitted to intervene.
2 It shall be for the Court to decide upon this request.
Article 63
1. Whenever the construction of a convention to which states
other than those concerned in the case are parties is in question,
the Registrar shall notify all such states forthwith.
2. Every state so notified has the right to intervene in the
proceedings; but if it uses this right, the construction given by the
judgment will be equally binding upon it.
Article 64
Unless otherwise decided by the Court, each party shall bear its
own costs.
CHAPTER IV
ADVISORY OPINIONS
Article 65
1. The Court may give an advisory opinion on any legal question
at the request of whatever body may be authorized by or in
accordance with the Charter of the United Nations to make
such a request.
2. Questions upon which the advisory opinion of the Court is
asked shall be laid before the Court by means of a written
request containing an exact statement of the question upon
which an opinion is required, and accompanied by all
documents likely to throw light upon the question.
Article 66
1. The Registrar shall forthwith give notice of the request for
an advisory opinion to all states entitled to appear before the
Court.
2. The Registrar shall also, by means of a special and direct
communication, notify any state entitled to appear before the
Court or international organization considered by the Court, or,
should it not be sitting, by the President, as likely to be able to
furnish information on the question, that the Court will be
prepared to receive, within a time-limit to be fixed by the
President, written statements, or to hear, at a public sitting to be
held for the purpose, oral statements relating to the question.
3. Should any such state entitled to appear before the Court
have failed to receive the special communication referred to in
paragraph 2 of this Article, such state may express a desire to
submit a written statement or to be heard; and the Court will
decide.
4. States and organizations having presented written or oral
statements or both shall be permitted to comment on the
statements made by other states or organizations in the form, to
the extent, and within the time-limits which the Court, or,
should it not be sitting, the President, shall decide in each
particular case. Accordingly, the Registrar shall in due time
communicate any such written statements to states and
organizations having submitted similar statements.
Article 67
The Court shall deliver its advisory opinions in open court,
notice having been given to the Secretary-General and to the
representatives of Members of the United Nations, of other
states and of international organizations immediately
concerned.
Article 68
In the exercise of its advisory functions the Court shall further
be guided by the provisions of the present Statute which apply
in contentious cases to the extent to which it recognizes them
to be applicable.
CHAPTER V
AMENDMENT
Article 69
Amendments to the present Statute shall be effected by the
same procedure as is provided by the Charter of the United
Nations for amendments to that Charter, subject however to
any provisions which the General Assembly upon
recommendation of the Security Council may adopt concerning
the participation of states which are parties to the present
Statute but are not Members of the United Nations.
 Article 70
The Court shall have power to propose such amendments to the
present Statute as it may deem necessary, through written
communications to the Secretary-General, for consideration in
conformity with the provisions of Article 69.

Responsibility of States for Internationally

Wrongful Acts
 PART ONE
THE INTERNATIONALLY WRONGFUL ACT OF A
STATE
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Article l
Responsibility of a State for its internationally wrongful acts
Every internationally wrongful act of a State entails the
international responsibility of that State.
Article 2
Elements of an internationally wrongful act of a State
There is an internationally wrongful act of a State when conduct
consisting of an action or omission:
a.Is attributable to the State under international law; and
b.Constitutes a breach of an international obligation of
the State.
Article 3
Characterization of an act of a State as internationally
wrongful
The characterization of an act of a State as internationally
wrongful is governed by international law. Such characterization
is not affected by the characterization of the same act as lawful by
internal law.
CHAPTER II
ATTRIBUTION OF CONDUCT TO A STATE
Article 4
Conduct of organs of a State
1.The conduct of any State organ shall be considered an
act of that State under international law, whether the
organ exercises legislative, executive, judicial or any
other functions, whatever position it holds in the
organization of the State, and whatever its character as
an organ of the central Government or of a territorial
unit of the State.
2.An organ includes any person or entity which has that
status in accordance with the internal law of the State.
Article 5
Conduct of persons or entities exercising elements of
governmental authority
The conduct of a person or entity which is not an organ of the
State under article 4 but which is empowered by the law of that
State to exercise elements of the governmental authority shall be
considered an act of the State under international law, provided
the person or entity is acting in that capacity in the particular
instance.
Article 6
Conduct of organs placed at the disposal of a State by
another State
The conduct of an organ placed at the disposal of a State by
another State shall be considered an act of the former State
under international law if the organ is acting in the exercise of
elements of the governmental authority of the State at whose
disposal it is placed.
Article 7
Excess of authority or contravention of instructions
The conduct of an organ of a State or of a person or entity
empowered to exercise elements of the governmental authority
shall be considered an act of the State under international law if
the organ, person or entity acts in that capacity, even if it
exceeds its authority or contravenes instructions.
Article 8
Conduct directed or controlled by a State
The conduct of a person or group of persons shall be
considered an act of a State under international law if the
person or group of persons is in fact acting on the instructions
of, or under the direction or control of, that State in carrying
out the conduct.
Article 9
Conduct carried out in the absence or default of the official
authorities
The conduct of a person or group of persons shall be
considered an act of a State under international law if the
person or group of persons is in fact exercising elements of the
governmental authority in the absence or default of the official
authorities and in circumstances such as to call for the exercise
of those elements of authority.
Article 10
Conduct of an insurrectional or other movement
1.The conduct of an insurrectional movement which
becomes the new Government of a State shall be
considered an act of that State under international law.
 2.The conduct of a movement, insurrectional or other,
which succeeds in establishing a new State in part of the
territory of a pre-existing State or in a territory under its
administration shall be considered an act of the new
State under international law.
3.This article is without prejudice to the attribution to a
State of any conduct, however related to that of the
movement concerned, which is to be considered an act
of that State by virtue of articles 4 to 9.
Article 11
Conduct acknowledged and adopted by a State as its own
Conduct which is not attributable to a State under the preceding
articles shall nevertheless be considered an act of that State under
international law if and to the extent that the State acknowledges
and adopts the conduct in question as its own.
CHAPTER III
BREACH OF AN INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATION
Article 12
Existence of a breach of an international obligation
There is a breach of an international obligation by a State when an
act of that State is not in conformity with what is required of it by
that obligation, regardless of its origin or character.
Article 13
International obligation in force for a State
An act of a State does not constitute a breach of an international
obligation unless the State is bound by the obligation in question
at the time the act occurs.
Article 14
Extension in time of the breach of an international obligation
1.The breach of an international obligation by an act of
a State not having a continuing character occurs at the
moment when the act is performed, even if its effects
continue.
2.The breach of an international obligation by an act of
a State having a continuing character extends over the
entire period during which the act continues and remains
not in conformity with the international obligation.
3.The breach of an international obligation requiring a
State to prevent a given event occurs when the event
occurs and extends over the entire period during which
the event continues and remains not in conformity with
that obligation.
Article 15
Breach consisting of a composite act
1.The breach of an international obligation by a State
through a series of actions or omissions defined in
aggregate as wrongful occurs when the action or
omission occurs which, taken with the other actions
or omissions, is sufficient to constitute the wrongful
act.
2.In such a case, the breach extends over the entire
period starting with the first of the actions or
omissions of the series and lasts for as long as these
actions or omissions are repeated and remain not in
conformity with the international obligation.
CHAPTER IV
RESPONSIBILITY OF A STATE IN CONNECTION
WITH THE ACT OF ANOTHER STATE
Article 16
Aid or assistance in the commission of an internationally
wrongful act
A State which aids or assists another State in the commission
of an internationally wrongful act by the latter is internationally
responsible for doing so if:
a.That State does so with knowledge of the
circumstances of the internationally wrongful act;
and
b.The act would be internationally wrongful if
committed by that State.
Article 17
Direction and control exercised over the commission of an
internationally wrongful act
A State which directs and controls another State in the
commission of an internationally wrongful act by the latter is
internationally responsible for that act if:
a.That State does so with knowledge of the
circumstances of the internationally wrongful act;
and
b.The act would be internationally wrongful if
committed by that State.
Article 18
Coercion of another State
A State which coerces another State to commit an act is
internationally responsible for that act if:
a.The act would, but for the coercion, be an
internationally wrongful act of the coerced State; and
b.The coercing State does so with knowledge of the
circumstances of the act.

Article 19
Effect of this chapter
This chapter is without prejudice to the international responsibility,
under other provisions of these articles, of the State which
commits the act in question, or of any other State.
CHAPTER V
CIRCUMSTANCES PRECLUDING WRONGFULNESS
Article 20
Consent
Valid consent by a State to the commission of a given act by
another State precludes the wrongfulness of that act in relation to
the former State to the extent that the act remains within the limits
of that consent.
Article 21
Self-defence
The wrongfulness of an act of a State is precluded if the act
constitutes a lawful measure of self-defence taken in conformity
with the Charter of the United Nations.
Article 22
Countermeasures in respect of an internationally wrongful act
The wrongfulness of an act of a State not in conformity with an
international obligation towards another State is precluded if and
to the extent that the act constitutes a countermeasure taken
against the latter State in accordance with chapter II of part three.
Article 23
Force majeure
1.The wrongfulness of an act of a State not in
conformity with an international obligation of that State
is precluded if the act is due to force majeure, that is the
occurrence of an irresistible force or of an unforeseen
event, beyond the control of the State, making it
materially impossible in the circumstances to perform
the obligation.
2.Paragraph 1 does not apply if:
a.The situation of force majeure is due, either
alone or in combination with other factors, to
the conduct of the State invoking it; or
b.The State has assumed the risk of that
situation occurring.
Article 24
Distress
1.The wrongfulness of an act of a State not in
conformity with an international obligation of that
State is precluded if the author of the act in question
has no other reasonable way, in a situation of distress,
of saving the author’s life or the lives of other
persons entrusted to the author’s care.
2.Paragraph 1 does not apply if:
a.The situation of distress is due, either
alone or in combination with other factors,
to the conduct of the State invoking it; or
b.The act in question is likely to create a
comparable or greater peril.
Article 25
Necessity
1.Necessity may not be invoked by a State as a
ground for precluding the wrongfulness of an act not
in conformity with an international obligation of that
State unless the act:
a.Is the only way for the State to safeguard
an essential interest against a grave and
imminent peril; and
b.Does not seriously impair an essential
interest of the State or States towards which
the obligation exists, or of the international
community as a whole.
2.In any case, necessity may not be invoked by a
State as a ground for precluding wrongfulness if:
a.The international obligation in question
excludes the possibility of invoking
necessity; or
b.The State has contributed to the situation
of necessity.
Article 26
Compliance with peremptory norms
Nothing in this chapter precludes the wrongfulness of any act
of a State which is not in conformity with an obligation arising
under a peremptory norm of general international law.
Article 27
Consequences of invoking a circumstance precluding
wrongfulness
The invocation of a circumstance precluding wrongfulness in
accordance with this chapter is without prejudice to:
a.Compliance with the obligation in question, if and
to the extent that the circumstance precluding
wrongfulness no longer exists;
 b.The question of compensation for any material loss
caused by the act in question.
PART TWO
CONTENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
OF A STATE
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Article 28
Legal consequences of an internationally wrongful act
The international responsibility of a State which is entailed by an
internationally wrongful act in accordance with the provisions of
part one involves legal consequences as set out in this part.
Article 29
Continued duty of performance
The legal consequences of an internationally wrongful act under
this part do not affect the continued duty of the responsible State
to perform the obligation breached.
Article 30
Cessation and non-repetition
The State responsible for the internationally wrongful act is under
an obligation:
a.To cease that act, if it is continuing;
b.To offer appropriate assurances and guarantees of
non-repetition, if circumstances so require.
Article 31
Reparation
1.The responsible State is under an obligation to make
full reparation for the injury caused by the
internationally wrongful act.
2.Injury includes any damage, whether material or
moral, caused by the internationally wrongful act of a
State.
Article 32
Irrelevance of internal law
The responsible State may not rely on the provisions of its internal
law as justification for failure to comply with its obligations under
this part.
Article 33
Scope of international obligations set out in this part
1.The obligations of the responsible State set out in
this part may be owed to another State, to several
States, or to the international community as a whole,
depending in particular on the character and content
of the international obligation and on the
circumstances of the breach.
2.This part is without prejudice to any right, arising
from the international responsibility of a State, which
may accrue directly to any person or entity other than
a State.
CHAPTER II
REPARATION FOR INJURY
Article 34
Forms of reparation
Full reparation for the injury caused by the internationally
wrongful act shall take the form of restitution, compensation
and satisfaction, either singly or in combination, in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter.
Article 35
Restitution
A State responsible for an internationally wrongful act is under
an obligation to make restitution, that is, to re-establish the
situation which existed before the wrongful act was committed,
provided and to the extent that restitution:
a.Is not materially impossible;
b.Does not involve a burden out of all proportion to
the benefit deriving from restitution instead of
compensation.
Article 36
Compensation
1.The State responsible for an internationally
wrongful act is under an obligation to compensate for
the damage caused thereby, insofar as such damage is
not made good by restitution.
2.The compensation shall cover any financially
assessable damage including loss of profits insofar as
it is established.
Article 37
Satisfaction
1.The State responsible for an internationally
wrongful act is under an obligation to give
satisfaction for the injury caused by that act insofar as
 it cannot be made good by restitution or compensation.
2.Satisfaction may consist in an acknowledgement of
the breach, an expression of regret, a formal apology or
another appropriate modality.
3.Satisfaction shall not be out of proportion to the injury
and may not take a form humiliating to the responsible
State.
Article 38
Interest
1.Interest on any principal sum due under this chapter
shall be payable when necessary in order to ensure full
reparation. The interest rate and mode of calculation
shall be set so as to achieve that result.
2.Interest runs from the date when the principal sum
should have been paid until the date the obligation to
pay is fulfilled.
Article 39
Contribution to the injury
In the determination of reparation, account shall be taken of the
contribution to the injury by wilful or negligent action or omission
of the injured State or any person or entity in relation to whom
reparation is sought.
CHAPTER III
SERIOUS BREACHES OF OBLIGATIONS UNDER
PEREMPTORY NORMS OF GENERAL
INTERNATIONAL LAW
Article 40
Application of this chapter
1.This chapter applies to the international responsibility
which is entailed by a serious breach by a State of an
obligation arising under a peremptory norm of general
international law.
2.A breach of such an obligation is serious if it involves
a gross or systematic failure by the responsible State to
fulfil the obligation.
Article 41
Particular consequences of a serious breach of an obligation
under this chapter
1.States shall cooperate to bring to an end through
lawful means any serious breach within the meaning of
article 40.
2.No State shall recognize as lawful a situation created
by a serious breach within the meaning of article 40, nor
render aid or assistance in maintaining that situation.
3.This article is without prejudice to the other
consequences referred to in this part and to such further
consequences that a breach to which this chapter
applies may entail under international law.
PART THREE
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL
RESPONSIBILITY OF A STATE
CHAPTER I
INVOCATION OF THE RESPONSIBILITY OF A STATE
Article 42
Invocation of responsibility by an injured State
A State is entitled as an injured State to invoke the
responsibility of another State if the obligation breached is
owed to:
a.That State individually; or
b.A group of States including that State, or the
international community as a whole, and the breach
of the obligation:
i.Specially affects that State; or
ii.Is of such a character as radically to
change the position of all the other States to
which the obligation is owed with respect
to the further performance of the obligation.
Article 43
Notice of claim by an injured State
1.An injured State which invokes the responsibility
of another State shall give notice of its claim to that
State.
2.The injured State may specify in particular:
a.The conduct that the responsible State
should take in order to cease the wrongful
act, if it is continuing;
b.What form reparation should take in
accordance with the provisions of part two.
Article 44
Admissibility of claims
The responsibility of a State may not be invoked if:
a.The claim is not brought in accordance with any
applicable rule relating to the nationality of claims;
b.The claim is one to which the rule of exhaustion of
local remedies applies and any available and effective
local remedy has not been exhausted.
 Article 45
Loss of the right to invoke responsibility
The responsibility of a State may not be invoked if:
a.The injured State has validly waived the claim;
b.The injured State is to be considered as having, by
reason of its conduct, validly acquiesced in the lapse of
the claim.
Article 46
Plurality of injured States
Where several States are injured by the same internationally
wrongful act, each injured State may separately invoke the
responsibility of the State which has committed the internationally
wrongful act.
Article 47
Plurality of responsible States
1.Where several States are responsible for the same
internationally wrongful act, the responsibility of each
State may be invoked in relation to that act.
2.Paragraph 1:
a.Does not permit any injured State to recover,
by way of compensation, more than the
damage it has suffered;
b.Is without prejudice to any right of recourse
against the other responsible States.
Article 48
Invocation of responsibility by a State other than an injured
State
1.Any State other than an injured State is entitled to
invoke the responsibility of another State in accordance
with paragraph 2 if:
a.The obligation breached is owed to a group
of States including that State, and is
established for the protection of a collective
interest of the group; or
b.The obligation breached is owed to the
international community as a whole.
2.Any State entitled to invoke responsibility under
paragraph 1 may claim from the responsible State:
a.Cessation of the internationally wrongful act,
and assurances and guarantees of non-
repetition in accordance with article 30; and
b.Performance of the obligation of reparation
in accordance with the preceding articles, in
the interest of the injured State or of the
beneficiaries of the obligation breached.
3.The requirements for the invocation of
responsibility by an injured State under articles 43,
44 and 45 apply to an invocation of responsibility by
a State entitled to do so under paragraph 1.
CHAPTER II
COUNTERMEASURES
Article 49
Object and limits of countermeasures
1.An injured State may only take countermeasures
against a State which is responsible for an
internationally wrongful act in order to induce that
State to comply with its obligations under part two.
2.Countermeasures are limited to the non-
performance for the time being of international
obligations of the State taking the measures towards
the responsible State.
3.Countermeasures shall, as far as possible, be taken
in such a way as to permit the resumption of
performance of the obligations in question.
Article 50
Obligations not affected by countermeasures
1.Countermeasures shall not affect:
a.The obligation to refrain from the threat
or use of force as embodied in the Charter
of the United Nations;
b.Obligations for the protection of
fundamental human rights;
c.Obligations of a humanitarian character
prohibiting reprisals;
d.Other obligations under peremptory
norms of general international law.
2.A State taking countermeasures is not relieved from
fulfilling its obligations:
a.Under any dispute settlement procedure
applicable between it and the responsible
State;
b.To respect the inviolability of diplomatic
or consular agents, premises, archives and
documents.
Article 51
Proportionality
Countermeasures must be commensurate with the injury
suffered, taking into account the gravity of the internationally
wrongful act and the rights in question.
Article 52
Conditions relating to resort to countermeasures
 1.Before taking countermeasures, an injured State shall: The applicable rules of international law continue to govern
questions concerning the responsibility of a State for an
a.Call upon the responsible State, in internationally wrongful act to the extent that they are not
accordance with article 43, to fulfil its regulated by these articles.
obligations under part two;
b.Notify the responsible State of any decision
to take countermeasures and offer to negotiate
Article 57
with that State.
Responsibility of an international organization
2.Notwithstanding paragraph 1 (b), the injured State
may take such urgent countermeasures as are necessary
to preserve its rights.
These articles are without prejudice to any question of the
3.Countermeasures may not be taken, and if already responsibility under international law of an international
taken must be suspended without undue delay if: organization, or of any State for the conduct of an international
organization.
a.The internationally wrongful act has ceased;
and
b.The dispute is pending before a court or Article 58
tribunal which has the authority to make Individual responsibility
decisions binding on the parties.
4.Paragraph 3 does not apply if the responsible State
fails to implement the dispute settlement procedures in
These articles are without prejudice to any question of the
good faith.
individual responsibility under international law of any person
acting on behalf of a State.

Article 53
Termination of countermeasures Article 59
Charter of the United Nations

Countermeasures shall be terminated as soon as the responsible

State has complied with its obligations under part two in relation These articles are without prejudice to the Charter of the
to the internationally wrongful act. United Nations.

Article 54
Measures taken by States other than an injured State

This chapter does not prejudice the right of any State, entitled
VIENNA CONVENTION ON THE LAW
under article 48, paragraph 1, to invoke the responsibility of OF TREATIES SIGNED AT VIENNA
another State, to take lawful measures against that State to ensure
cessation of the breach and reparation in the interest of the injured May 23, 1969
State or of the beneficiaries of the obligation breached. ENTRY INTO FORCE: 27 January 1980

The States Parties to the present Convention

PART FOUR
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 55
Lex specialis
These articles do not apply where and to the extent that the
conditions for the existence of an internationally wrongful act or
the content or implementation of the international responsibility of
a State are governed by special rules of international law.
Considering the fundamental role of treaties in the history of
international relations,
Recognizing the ever-increasing importance of treaties as a
source of international law and as a means of developing
peaceful co-operation among nations, whatever their
constitutional and social systems,
Noting that the principles of free consent and of good faith and
the pacta sunt servanda rule are universally recognized,

Affirming that disputes concerning treaties, like other

Article 56
Questions of State responsibility not regulated by these international disputes, should be settled by peaceful means and
articles in conformity with the principles of justice and international
law,
Recalling the determination of the peoples of the United Nations
to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the
obligations arising from treaties can be maintained,
Having in mind the principles of international law embodied in
the Charter of the United Nations, such as the principles of the
equal rights and self-determination of peoples, of the sovereign
equality and independence of all States, of non-interference in the
domestic affairs of States, of the prohibition of the threat or use of
force and of universal respect for, and observance of, human
rights and fundamental freedoms for all,
Believing that the codification and progressive development of the
law of treaties achieved in the present Convention will promote
the purposes of the United Nations set forth in the Charter, namely,
the maintenance of international peace and security, the
development of friendly relations and the achievement of co-
operation among nations,
Affirming that the rules of customary international law will
continue to govern questions not regulated by the provisions of
the present Convention,
Have agreed as follows:
PART I
INTRODUCTION
Article 1
Scope of the present Convention
The present Convention applies to treaties between States.
Article 2
Use of terms
1. For the purposes of the present Convention:
(a) 'treaty' means an international agreement concluded
between States in written form and governed by international law,
whether embodied in a single instrument or in two or more related
instruments and whatever its particular designation;
(b) 'ratification', 'acceptance', 'approval' and 'accession'
mean in each case the international act so named whereby a State
establishes on the international plane its consent to be bound by a
treaty;
(c) 'full powers' means a document emanating from the
competent authority of a State designating a person or persons to
represent the State for negotiating, adopting or authenticating the
text of a treaty, for expressing the consent of the State to be bound
by a treaty, or for accomplishing any other act with respect to a
treaty;
(d) 'reservation' means a unilateral statement, however
phrased or named, made by a State, when signing, ratifying,
accepting, approving or acceding to a treaty, whereby it purports
to exclude or to modify the legal effect of certain provisions of
the treaty in their application to that State;
(e) 'negotiating State' means a State which took part
in the drawing up and adoption of the text of the treaty;
(f) 'contracting State' means a State which has
consented to be bound by the treaty, whether or not the treaty
has entered into force;
(g) 'party' means a State which has consented to be
bound by the treaty and for which the treaty is in force;
(h) 'third State' means a State not a party to the treaty;
(i) 'international organization' means an
intergovernmental organization.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1 regarding the use of terms in
the present Convention are without prejudice to the use of
those terms or to the meanings which may be given to them in
the internal law of any State.
Article 3
International agreements not within the scope of the
present Convention
The fact that the present Convention does not apply to
international agreements concluded between States and other
subjects of international law or between such other subjects of
international law, or to international agreements not in written
form, shall not affect:
(a) the legal force of such agreements; (b) the application to
them of any of the rules set forth in the present Convention to
which they would be subject under international law
independently of the Convention; (c) the application of the
Convention to the relations of States as between themselves
under international agreements to which other subjects of
international law are also parties.
Article 4
Non-retroactivity of the present Convention
Without prejudice to the application of any rules set forth in the
present Convention to which treaties would be subject under
international law independently of the Convention, the
Convention applies only to treaties which are concluded by
States after the entry into force of the present Convention with
regard to such States.
Article 5
Treaties constituting international organizations and
treaties adopted within an international organization
The present Convention applies to any treaty which is the
constituent instrument of an international organization and to
any treaty adopted within an international organization without
prejudice to any relevant rules of the organization.
PART II
CONCLUSION AND ENTRY INTO FORCE OF TREATIES
SECTION 1. CONCLUSION OF TREATIES
Article 6
Capacity of States to conclude treaties
Every State possesses capacity to conclude treaties.
Article 7
Full powers
1. A person is considered as representing a State for the purpose
of adopting or authenticating the text of a treaty or for the purpose
of expressing the consent of the State to be bound by a treaty if:
(a) he produces appropriate full powers; or (b) it appears from the
practice of the States concerned or from other circumstances that
their intention was to consider that person as representing the
State for such purposes and to dispense with full powers.
2. In virtue of their functions and without having to produce full
powers, the following are considered as representing their State:
(a) Heads of State, Heads of Government and Ministers for
Foreign Affairs, for the purpose of performing all acts relating to
the conclusion of a treaty; (b) heads of diplomatic missions, for
the purpose of adopting the text of a treaty between the
accrediting State and the State to which they are accredited; (c)
representatives accredited by States to an international conference
or to an international organization or one of its organs, for the
purpose of adopting the text of a treaty in that conference,
organization or organ.
Article 8
Subsequent confirmation of an act performed without
authorization
An act relating to the conclusion of a treaty performed by a person
who cannot be considered under article 7 as authorized to
represent a State for that purpose is without legal effect unless
afterwards confirmed by that State.
Article 9
Adoption of the text
1. The adoption of the text of a treaty takes place by the consent
of all the States participating in its drawing up except as provided
in paragraph 2.
2. The adoption of the text of a treaty at an international
conference takes place by the vote of two-thirds of the States
present and voting, unless by the same majority they shall decide
to apply a different rule.
Article 10
Authentication of the text
The text of a treaty is established as authentic and definitive:
(a) by such procedure as may be provided for in the text or
agreed upon by the States participating in its drawing up; or (b)
failing such procedure, by the signature, signature ad
referendum or initialling by the representatives of those States
of the text of the treaty or of the Final Act of a conference
incorporating the text.
Article 11
Means of expressing consent to be bound by a treaty
The consent of a State to be bound by a treaty may be
expressed by signature, exchange of instruments constituting a
treaty, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, or by any
other means if so agreed.
Article 12
Consent to be bound by a treaty expressed by signature
1. The consent of a State to be bound by a treaty is expressed
by the signature of its representative when: (a) the treaty
provides that signature shall have that effect; (b) it is otherwise
established that the negotiating States were agreed that
signature should have that effect; or (c) the intention of the
State to give that effect to the signature appears from the full
powers of its representative or was expressed during the
negotiation.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1: (a) the initialling of a text
constitutes a signature of the treaty when it is established that
the negotiating States so agreed; (b) the signature ad
referendum of a treaty by a representative, if confirmed by his
State, constitutes a full signature of the treaty.
Article 13
Consent to be bound by a treaty expressed by an exchange
of instruments constituting a treaty
The consent of States to be bound by a treaty constituted by
instruments exchanged between them is expressed by that
exchange when: (a) the instruments provide that their exchange
shall have that effect; or (b) it is otherwise established that
those States were agreed that the exchange of instruments
should have that effect
Article 14
Consent to be bound by a treaty expressed by ratification,
acceptance or approval
1. The consent of a State to be bound by a treaty is expressed
by ratification when:
(a) the treaty provides for such consent to be expressed by
means of ratification; (b) it is otherwise established that the
negotiating States were agreed that ratification should be
required; (c) the representative of the State has signed the
treaty subject to ratification; or (d) the intention of the State to
sign the treaty subject to ratification appears from the full powers
of its representative or was expressed during the negotiation.
2. The consent of a State to be bound by a treaty is expressed by
acceptance or approval under conditions similar to those which
apply to ratification.
Article 15
Consent to be bound by a treaty expressed by accession
The consent of a State to be bound by a treaty is expressed by
accession when:
(a) the treaty provides that such consent may be expressed by that
State by means of accession; (b) it is otherwise established that
the negotiating States were agreed that such consent may be
expressed by that State by means of accession; or (c) all the
parties have subsequently agreed that such consent may be
expressed by that State by means of accession.
Article 16.
Exchange or deposit of instruments of ratification, acceptance,
approval or accession
Unless the treaty otherwise provides, instruments of ratification,
acceptance, approval or accession establish the consent of a State
to be bound by a treaty upon:
(a) their exchange between the contracting States; (b) their deposit
with the depositary; or (c) their notification to the contracting
States or to the depositary, if 50 agreed.
Article 17
Consent to be bound by part of a treaty and choice of differing
provisions
1. Without prejudice to articles 19 to 23, the consent of a State to
be bound by part of a treaty is effective only if the treaty so
permits or the other contracting States so agree.
2. The consent of a State to be bound by a treaty which permits a
choice between differing provisions is effective only if it is made
clear to which of the provisions the consent relates.
Article 18
Obligation not to defeat the object and purpose of a treaty
prior to its entry into force
A State is obliged to refrain from acts which would defeat the
object and purpose of a treaty when:
(a) it has signed the treaty or has exchanged instruments
constituting the treaty subject to ratification, acceptance or
approval, until it shall have made its intention clear not to become
a party to the treaty; or (b) it has expressed its consent to be bound
by the treaty, pending the entry into force of the treaty and
provided that such entry into force is not unduly delayed.
SECTION 2. RESERVATIONS
Article 19
Formulation of reservations
A State may, when signing, ratifying, accepting, approving or
acceding to a treaty, formulate a reservation unless:
(a) the reservation is prohibited by the treaty; (b) the treaty
provides that only specified reservations, which do not include
the reservation in question, may be made; or (c) in cases not
falling under sub-paragraphs (a) and (b), the reservation is
incompatible with the object and purpose of the treaty.
Article 20
Acceptance of and objection to reservations
1. A reservation expressly authorized by a treaty does not
require any subsequent acceptance by the other contracting
States unless the treaty so provides.
2. When it appears from the limited number of the negotiating
States and the object and purpose of a treaty that the
application of the treaty in its entirety between all the parties is
an essential condition of the consent of each one to be bound
by the treaty, a reservation requires acceptance by all the
parties.
3. When a treaty is a constituent instrument of an international
organization and unless it otherwise provides, a reservation
requires the acceptance of the competent organ of that
organization.
4. In cases not falling under the preceding paragraphs and
unless the treaty otherwise provides:
(a) acceptance by another contracting State of a reservation
constitutes the reserving State a party to the treaty in relation to
that other State if or when the treaty is in force for those States;
(b) an objection by another contracting State to a reservation
does not preclude the entry into force of the treaty as between
the objecting and reserving States unless a contrary intention is
definitely expressed by the objecting State; (c) an act
expressing a State's consent to be bound by the treaty and
containing a reservation is effective as soon as at least one
other contracting State has accepted the reservation.
5. For the purposes of paragraphs 2 and 4 and unless the treaty
otherwise provides, a reservation is considered to have been
accepted by a State if it shall have raised no objection to the
reservation by the end of a period of twelve months after it was
notified of the reservation or by the date on which it expressed
its consent to be bound by the treaty, whichever is later.
Article 21
Legal effects of reservations and of objections to
reservations
1. A reservation established with regard to another party in
accordance with articles 19, 20 and 23:
(a) modifies for the reserving State in its relations with that other
party the provisions of the treaty to which the reservation relates
to the extent of the reservation; and (b) modifies those provisions
to the same extent for that other party in its relations with the
reserving State.
2. The reservation does not modify the provisions of the treaty for
the other parties to the treaty inter se.
3. When a State objecting to a reservation has not opposed the
entry into force of the treaty between itself and the reserving State,
the provisions to which the reservation relates do not apply as
between the two States to the extent of the reservation.
Article 22
Withdrawal of reservations and of objections to reservations
1. Unless the treaty otherwise provides, a reservation may be
withdrawn at any time and the consent of a State which has
accepted the reservation is not required for its withdrawal.
2. Unless the treaty otherwise provides, an objection to a
reservation may be withdrawn at any time.
3. Unless the treaty otherwise provides, or it is otherwise agreed:
(a) the withdrawal of a reservation becomes operative in relation
to another contracting State only when notice of it has been
received by that State; (b) the withdrawal of an objection to a
reservation becomes operative only when notice of it has been
received by the State which formulated the reservation.
Article 23
Procedure regarding reservations
1. A reservation, an express acceptance of a reservation and an
objection to a reservation must be formulated in writing and
communicated to the contracting States and other States entitled
to become parties to the treaty.
2. If formulated when signing the treaty subject to ratification,
acceptance or approval, a reservation must be formally confirmed
by the reserving State when expressing its consent to be bound by
the treaty. In such a case the reservation shall be considered as
having been made on the date of its confirmation.
3. An express acceptance of, or an objection to, a reservation
made previously to confirmation of the reservation does not itself
require confirmation.
4. The withdrawal of a reservation or of an objection to a
reservation must be formulated in writing.
SECTION 3. ENTRY INTO FORCE AND PROVISIONAL
APPLICATION OF TREATIES
Article 24
Entry into force
1. A treaty enters into force in such manner and upon such date
as it may provide or as the negotiating States may agree.
2. Failing any such provision or agreement, a treaty enters into
force as soon as consent to be bound by the treaty has been
established for all the negotiating States.
3. When the consent of a State to be bound by a treaty is
established on a date after the treaty has come into force, the
treaty enters into force for that State on that date, unless the
treaty otherwise provides.
4. The provisions of a treaty regulating the authentication of its
text, the establishment of the consent of States to be bound by
the treaty, the manner or date of its entry into force,
reservations, the functions of the depositary and other matters
arising necessarily before the entry into force of the treaty
apply from the time of the adoption of its text.
Article 25
Provisional application
1. A treaty or a part of a treaty is applied provisionally pending
its entry into force if:
(a) the treaty itself so provides; or (b) the negotiating States
have in some other manner so agreed.
2. Unless the treaty otherwise provides or the negotiating States
have otherwise agreed, the provisional application of a treaty or
a part of a treaty with respect to a State shall be terminated if
that State notifies the other States between which the treaty is
being applied provisionally of its intention not to become a
party to the treaty.
PART III
OBSERVANCE, APPLICATION AND
INTERPRETATION OF TREATIES
SECTION 1. OBSERVANCE OF TREATIES
Article 26
Pacta sunt servanda
Every treaty in force is binding upon the parties to it and must
be performed by them in good faith.
Article 27 Internal law and observance of treaties
A party may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as
justification for its failure to perform a treaty. This rule is
without prejudice to article 46.
SECTION 2. APPLICATION OF TREATIES
Article 28
Non-retroactivity of treaties
Unless a different intention appears from the treaty or is
otherwise established, its provisions do not bind a party in
relation to any act or fact which took place or any situation
which ceased to exist before the date of the entry into force of the
treaty with respect to that party.
Article 29
Territorial scope of treaties
Unless a different intention appears from the treaty or is otherwise
established, a treaty is binding upon each party in respect of its
entire territory.
Article 30
Application of successive treaties relating to the same subject-
matter
1. Subject to Article 103 of the Charter of the United Nations, the
rights and obligations of States parties to successive treaties
relating to the same subject-matter shall be determined in
accordance with the following paragraphs.
2. When a treaty specifies that it is subject to, or that it is not to be
considered as incompatible with, an earlier or later treaty, the
provisions of that other treaty prevail.
3. When all the parties to the earlier treaty are parties also to the
later treaty but the earlier treaty is not terminated or suspended in
operation under article 59, the earlier treaty applies only to the
extent that its provisions are compatible with those of the latter
treaty.
4. When the parties to the later treaty do not include all the parties
to the earlier one:
(a) as between States parties to both treaties the same rule applies
as in paragraph 3; (b) as between a State party to both treaties and
a State party to only one of the treaties, the treaty to which both
States are parties governs their mutual rights and obligations.
5. Paragraph 4 is without prejudice to article 41, or to any
question of the termination or suspension of the operation of a
treaty under article 60 or to any question of responsibility which
may arise for a State from the conclusion or application of a treaty,
the provisions of which are incompatible with its obligations
towards another State under another treaty.
SECTION 3. INTERPRETATION OF TREATIES
Article 31
General rule of interpretation
1. A treaty shall be interpreted in good faith in accordance with
the ordinary meaning to be given to the terms of the treaty in their
context and in the light of its object and purpose.
2. The context for the purpose of the interpretation of a treaty
shall comprise, in addition to the text, including its preamble and
annexes:
(a) any agreement relating to the treaty which was made between
all the parties in connexion with the conclusion of the treaty; (b)
any instrument which was made by one or more parties in
connexion with the conclusion of the treaty and accepted by the
other parties as an instrument related to the treaty.
3. There shall be taken into account, together with the context:
(a) any subsequent agreement between the parties regarding the
interpretation of the treaty or the application of its provisions;
(b) any subsequent practice in the application of the treaty
which establishes the agreement of the parties regarding its
interpretation; (c) any relevant rules of international law
applicable in the relations between the parties.
4. A special meaning shall be given to a term if it is established
that the parties so intended.
Article 32
Supplementary means of interpretation
Recourse may be had to supplementary means of interpretation,
including the preparatory work of the treaty and the
circumstances of its conclusion, in order to confirm the
meaning resulting from the application of article 31, or to
determine the meaning when the interpretation according to
article 31:
(a) leaves the meaning ambiguous or obscure; or (b) leads to a
result which is manifestly absurd or unreasonable.
Article 33
Interpretation of treaties authenticated in two or more
languages
1. When a treaty has been authenticated in two or more
languages, the text is equally authoritative in each language,
unless the treaty provides or the parties agree that, in case of
divergence, a particular text shall prevail.
2. A version of the treaty in a language other than one of those
in which the text was authenticated shall be considered an
authentic text only if the treaty so provides or the parties so
agree.
3. The terms of the treaty are presumed to have the same
meaning in each authentic text.
4. Except where a particular text prevails in accordance with
paragraph 1, when a comparison of the authentic texts discloses
a difference of meaning which the application of articles 31
and 32 does not remove, the meaning which best reconciles the
texts, having regard to the object and purpose of the treaty,
shall be adopted.
SECTION 4. TREATIES AND THIRD STATES
Article 34
General rule regarding third States
A treaty does not create either obligations or rights for a third
State without its consent.
Article 35 Treaties providing for obligations for third States
An obligation arises for a third State from a provision of a treaty if
the parties to the treaty intend the provision to be the means of
establishing the obligation and the third State expressly accepts
that obligation in writing.
Article 36
Treaties providing for rights for third States
1. A right arises for a third State from a provision of a treaty if the
parties to the treaty intend the provision to accord that right either
to the third State, or to a group of States to which it belongs, or to
all States, and the third State assents thereto. Its assent shall be
presumed so long as the contrary is not indicated, unless the treaty
otherwise provides.
2. A State exercising a right in accordance with paragraph 1 shall
comply with the conditions for its exercise provided for in the
treaty or established in conformity with the treaty.
Article 37
Revocation or modification of obligations or rights of third
States
1. When an obligation has arisen for a third State in conformity
with article 35, the obligation may be revoked or modified only
with the consent of the parties to the treaty and of the third State,
unless it is established that they had otherwise agreed.
2. When a right has arisen for a third State in conformity with
article 36, the right may not be revoked or modified by the parties
if it is established that the right was intended not to be revocable
or subject to modification without the consent of the third State.
Article 38
Rules in a treaty becoming binding on third States through
international custom
Nothing in articles 34 to 37 precludes a rule set forth in a treaty
from becoming binding upon a third State as a customary rule of
international law, recognized as such.
PART IV
AMENDMENT AND MODIFICATION OF TREATIES
Article 39
General rule regarding the amendment of treaties
A treaty may be amended by agreement between the parties. The
rules laid down in Part II apply to such an agreement except in so
far as the treaty may otherwise provide.
Article 40
Amendment of multilateral treaties
1. Unless the treaty otherwise provides, the amendment of
multilateral treaties shall be governed by the following paragraphs.
2. Any proposal to amend a multilateral treaty as between all the
parties must be notified to all the contracting States, each one of
which shall have the right to take part in:
(a) the decision as to the action to be taken in regard to such
proposal; (b) the negotiation and conclusion of any agreement
for the amendment of the treaty.
3. Every State entitled to become a party to the treaty shall also
be entitled to become a party to the treaty as amended.
4. The amending agreement does not bind any State already a
party to the treaty which does not become a party to the
amending agreement; article 30, paragraph 4(b), applies in
relation to such State.
5. Any State which becomes a party to the treaty after the entry
into force of the amending agreement shall, failing an
expression of a different intention by that State:
(a) be considered as a party to the treaty as amended; and (b)
be considered as a party to the unamended treaty in relation to
any party to the treaty not bound by the amending agreement.
Article 41
Agreements to modify multilateral treaties between certain
of the parties only
1. Two or more of the parties to a multilateral treaty may
conclude an agreement to modify the treaty as between
themselves alone if:
(a) the possibility of such a modification is provided for by the
treaty; or (b) the modification in question is not prohibited by
the treaty and: (i) does not affect the enjoyment by the other
parties of their rights under the treaty or the performance of
their obligations; (ii) does not relate to a provision, derogation
from which is incompatible with the effective execution of the
object and purpose of the treaty as a whole.
2. Unless in a case falling under paragraph 1(a) the treaty
otherwise provides, the parties in question shall notify the other
parties of their intention to conclude the agreement and of the
modification to the treaty for which it provides.
PART V
INVALIDITY, TERMINATION AND SUSPENSION OF
THE OPERATION OF TREATIES
SECTION 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 42
Validity and continuance in force of treaties
1. The validity of a treaty or of the consent of a State to be
bound by a treaty may be impeached only through the
application of the present Convention.
2. The termination of a treaty, its denunciation or the
withdrawal of a party, may take place only as a result of the
application of the provisions of the treaty or of the present
Convention. The same rule applies to suspension of the operation
of a treaty.
Article 43
Obligations imposed by international law independently of a
treaty
The invalidity, termination or denunciation of a treaty, the
withdrawal of a party from it, or the suspension of its operation, as
a result of the application of the present Convention or of the
provisions of the treaty, shall not in any way impair the duty of
any State to fulfil any obligation embodied in the treaty to which
it would be subject under international law independently of the
treaty.
Article 44
Separability of treaty provisions
1. A right of a party, provided for in a treaty or arising under
article 56, to denounce, withdraw from or suspend the operation
of the treaty may be exercised only with respect to the whole
treaty unless the treaty otherwise provides or the parties otherwise
agree.
2. A ground for invalidating, terminating, withdrawing from or
suspending the operation of a treaty recognized in the present
Convention may be invoked only with respect to the whole treaty
except as provided in the following paragraphs or in article 60.
3. If the ground relates solely to particular clauses, it may be
invoked only with respect to those clauses where:
(a) the said clauses are separable from the remainder of the treaty
with regard to their application; (b) it appears from the treaty or is
otherwise established that acceptance of those clauses was not an
essential basis of the consent of the other party or parties to be
bound by the treaty as a whole; and (c) continued performance of
the remainder of the treaty would not be unjust.
4. In cases falling under articles 49 and 50 the State entitled to
invoke the fraud or corruption may do so with respect either to the
whole treaty or, subject to paragraph 3, to the particular clauses
alone.
5. In cases falling under articles 51, 52 and 53, no separation of
the provisions of the treaty is permitted.
Article 45
Loss of a right to invoke a ground for invalidating,
terminating, withdrawing
from or suspending the operation of a treaty
A State may no longer invoke a ground for invalidating,
terminating, withdrawing from or suspending the operation of a
treaty under articles 46 to 50 or articles 60 and 62 if, after
becoming aware of the facts:
(a) it shall have expressly agreed that the treaty is valid or remains
in force or continues in operation, as the case may be; or (b) it
must by reason of its conduct be considered as having
acquiesced in the validity of the treaty or in its maintenance in
force or in operation, as the case may be.
SECTION 2. INVALIDITY OF TREATIES
Article 46
Provisions of internal law regarding competence to
conclude treaties
1. A State may not invoke the fact that its consent to be bound
by a treaty has been expressed in violation of a provision of its
internal law regarding competence to conclude treaties as
invalidating its consent unless that violation was manifest and
concerned a rule of its internal law of fundamental importance.
2. A violation is manifest if it would be objectively evident to
any State conducting itself in the matter in accordance with
normal practice and in good faith.
Article 47
Specific restrictions on authority to express the consent of a
State
If the authority of a representative to express the consent of a
State to be bound by a particular treaty has been made subject
to a specific restriction, his omission to observe that restriction
may not be invoked as invalidating the consent expressed by
him unless the restriction was notified to the other negotiating
States prior to his expressing such consent.
Article 48
Error
1. A State may invoke an error in a treaty as invalidating its
consent to be bound by the treaty if the error relates to a fact or
situation which was assumed by that State to exist at the time
when the treaty was concluded and formed an essential basis of
its consent to be bound by the treaty.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply if the State in question
contributed by its own conduct to the error or if the
circumstances were such as to put that State on notice of a
possible error.
3. An error relating only to the wording of the text of a treaty
does not affect its validity; article 79 then applies.
Article 49
Fraud
If a State has been induced to conclude a treaty by the
fraudulent conduct of another negotiating State, the State may
invoke the fraud as invalidating its consent to be bound by the
treaty.
Article 50
Corruption of a representative of a State
If the expression of a State's consent to be bound by a treaty has
been procured through the corruption of its representative directly
or indirectly by another negotiating State, the State may invoke
such corruption as invalidating its consent to be bound by the
treaty.
Article 51
Coercion of a representative of a State
The expression of a State's consent to be bound by a treaty which
has been procured by the coercion of its representative through
acts or threats directed against him shall be without any legal
effect.
Article 52
Coercion of a State by the threat or use of force
A treaty is void if its conclusion has been procured by the threat
or use of force in violation of the principles of international law
embodied in the Charter of the United Nations.
Article 53
Treaties conflicting with a peremptory norm of general
international law (jus cogens)
A treaty is void if, at the time of its conclusion, it conflicts with a
peremptory norm of general international law. For the purposes of
the present Convention, a peremptory norm of general
international law is a norm accepted and recognized by the
international community of States as a whole as a norm from
which no derogation is permitted and which can be modified only
by a subsequent norm of general international law having the
same character.
SECTION 3. TERMINATION AND SUSPENSION OF THE
OPERATION OF TREATIES
Article 54
Termination of or withdrawal from a treaty under its
provisions or by consent of the parties
The termination of a treaty or the withdrawal of a party may take
place:
(a) in conformity with the provisions of the treaty; or (b) at any
time by consent of all the parties after consultation with the other
contracting States.
Article 55
Reduction of the parties to a multilateral treaty below the
number necessary for its entry into force
Unless the treaty otherwise provides, a multilateral treaty does not
terminate by reason only of the fact that the number of the parties
falls below the number necessary for its entry into force.
Article 56
Denunciation of or withdrawal from a treaty containing no
provision
regarding termination, denunciation or withdrawal
1. A treaty which contains no provision regarding its
termination and which does not provide for denunciation or
withdrawal is not subject to denunciation or withdrawal unless:
(a) it is established that the parties intended to admit the
possibility of denunciation or withdrawal; or (b) a right of
denunciation or withdrawal may be implied by the nature of the
treaty.
2. A party shall give not less than twelve months' notice of its
intention to denounce or withdraw from a treaty under
paragraph 1.
Article 57
Suspension of the operation of a treaty under its provisions
or by consent of the parties
The operation of a treaty in regard to all the parties or to a
particular party may be suspended:
(a) in conformity with the provisions of the treaty; or (b) at any
time by consent of all the parties after consultation with the
other contracting States.
Article 58
Suspension of the operation of a multilateral treaty by
agreement between certain of the parties only
1. Two or more parties to a multilateral treaty may conclude an
agreement to suspend the operation of provisions of the treaty,
temporarily and as between themselves alone, if:
(a) the possibility of such a suspension is provided for by the
treaty; or (b) the suspension in question is not prohibited by the
treaty and: (i) does not affect the enjoyment by the other parties
of their rights under the treaty or the performance of their
obligations; (ii) is not incompatible with the object and purpose
of the treaty.
2. Unless in a case falling under paragraph 1(a) the treaty
otherwise provides, the parties in question shall notify the other
parties of their intention to conclude the agreement and of
those provisions of the treaty the operation of which they
intend to suspend.
Article 59
Termination or suspension of the operation of a treaty
implied by conclusion of a later treaty
1. A treaty shall be considered as terminated if all the parties to
it conclude a later treaty relating to the same subject-matter and:
(a) it appears from the later treaty or is otherwise established
that the parties intended that the matter should be governed by
that treaty; or (b) the provisions of the later treaty are so far
incompatible with those of the earlier one that the two treaties
are not capable of being applied at the same time.
2. The earlier treaty shall be considered as only suspended in Article 62
operation if it appears from the later treaty or is otherwise Fundamental change of circumstances
established that such was the intention of the parties.
1. A fundamental change of circumstances which has occurred
Article 60 with regard to those existing at the time of the conclusion of a
Termination or suspension of the operation of a treaty as a treaty, and which was not foreseen by the parties, may not be
consequence of its breach invoked as a ground for terminating or withdrawing from the
treaty unless:
1. A material breach of a bilateral treaty by one of the parties
entitles the other to invoke the breach as a ground for terminating (a) the existence of those circumstances constituted an essential
the treaty or suspending its operation in whole or in part. basis of the consent of the parties to be bound by the treaty;
and (b) the effect of the change is radically to transform the
2. A material breach of a multilateral treaty by one of the parties
extent of obligations still to be performed under the treaty.
entitles:
2. A fundamental change of circumstances may not be invoked
(a) the other parties by unanimous agreement to suspend the
as a ground for terminating or withdrawing from a treaty:
operation of the treaty in whole or in part or to terminate it either:
(i) in the relations between themselves and the defaulting State, or (a) if the treaty establishes a boundary; or (b) if the
(ii) as between all the parties; (b) a party specially affected by the fundamental change is the result of a breach by the party
breach to invoke it as a ground for suspending the operation of the invoking it either of an obligation under the treaty or of any
treaty in whole or in part in the relations between itself and the other international obligation owed to any other party to the
defaulting State; (c) any party other than the defaulting State to treaty.
invoke the breach as a ground for suspending the operation of the
3. If, under the foregoing paragraphs, a party may invoke a
treaty in whole or in part with respect to itself if the treaty is of
fundamental change of circumstances as a ground for
such a character that a material breach of its provisions by one
terminating or withdrawing from a treaty it may also invoke the
party radically changes the position of every party with respect to
change as a ground for suspending the operation of the treaty.
the further performance of its obligations under the treaty.
Article 63
3. A material breach of a treaty, for the purposes of this article,
Severance of diplomatic or consular relations
consists in:
The severance of diplomatic or consular relations between
(a) a repudiation of the treaty not sanctioned by the present
parties to a treaty does not affect the legal relations established
Convention; or (b) the violation of a provision essential to the
between them by the treaty except in so far as the existence of
accomplishment of the object or purpose of the treaty.
diplomatic or consular relations is indispensable for the
4. The foregoing paragraphs are without prejudice to any application of the treaty.
provision in the treaty applicable in the event of a breach.
Article 64 Emergence of a new peremptory norm of general
5. Paragraphs 1 to 3 do not apply to provisions relating to the international law (jus cogens)
protection of the human person contained in treaties of a
If a new peremptory norm of general international law emerges,
humanitarian character, in particular to provisions prohibiting any
any existing treaty which is in conflict with that norm becomes
form of reprisals against persons protected by such treaties.
void and terminates.
Article 61
SECTION 4. PROCEDURE
Supervening impossibility of performance
Article 65
1. A party may invoke the impossibility of performing a treaty as
Procedure to be followed with respect to invalidity,
a ground for terminating or withdrawing from it if the
termination,
impossibility results from the permanent disappearance or
withdrawal from or suspension of the operation of a treaty
destruction of an object indispensable for the execution of the
treaty. If the impossibility is temporary, it may be invoked only as 1. A party which, under the provisions of the present
a ground for suspending the operation of the treaty. Convention, invokes either a defect in its consent to be bound
by a treaty or a ground for impeaching the validity of a treaty,
2. Impossibility of performance may not be invoked by a party as
terminating it, withdrawing from it or suspending its operation,
a ground for terminating, withdrawing from or suspending the
must notify the other parties of its claim. The notification shall
operation of a treaty if the impossibility is the result of a breach
indicate the measure proposed to be taken with respect to the
by that party either of an obligation under the treaty or of any
treaty and the reasons therefor.
other international obligation owed to any other party to the treaty.
2. If, after the expiry of a period which, except in cases of special
urgency, shall not be less than three months after the receipt of the
notification, no party has raised any objection, the party making
the notification may carry out in the manner provided in article 67
the measure which it has proposed.
3. If, however, objection has been raised by any other party, the
parties shall seek a solution through the means indicated in article
33 of the Charter of the United Nations.
4. Nothing in the foregoing paragraphs shall affect the rights or
obligations of the parties under any provisions in force binding the
parties with regard to the settlement of disputes.
5. Without prejudice to article 45, the fact that a State has not
previously made the notification prescribed in paragraph 1 shall
not prevent it from making such notification in answer to another
party claiming performance of the treaty or alleging its violation.
Article 66
Procedures for judicial settlement, arbitration and
conciliation
If, under paragraph 3 of article 65, no solution has been reached
within a period of 12 months following the date on which the
objection was raised, the following procedures shall be followed:
(a) any one of the parties to a dispute concerning the application
or the interpretation of articles 53 or 64 may, by a written
application, submit it to the International Court of Justice for a
decision unless the parties by common consent agree to submit the
dispute to arbitration; (b) any one of the parties to a dispute
concerning the application or the interpretation of any of the other
articles in Part V of the present Convention may set in motion the
procedure specified in the Annexe to the Convention by
submitting a request to that effect to the Secretary-General of the
United Nations.
Article 67
Instruments for declaring invalid, terminating, withdrawing
from or suspending the operation of a treaty
1. The notification provided for under article 65 paragraph 1 must
be made in writing.
2. Any act declaring invalid, terminating, withdrawing from or
suspending the operation of a treaty pursuant to the provisions of
the treaty or of paragraphs 2 or 3 of article 65 shall be carried out
through an instrument communicated to the other parties. If the
instrument is not signed by the Head of State, Head of
Government or Minister for Foreign Affairs, the representative of
the State communicating it may be called upon to produce full
powers.
Article 68
Revocation of notifications and instruments provided for in
articles 65 and 67
A notification or instrument provided for in articles 65 or 67
may be revoked at any time before it takes effect.
SECTION 5. CONSEQUENCES OF THE INVALIDITY,
TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION OF THE
OPERATION OF A TREATY
Article 69
Consequences of the invalidity of a treaty
1. A treaty the invalidity of which is established under the
present Convention is void. The provisions of a void treaty
have no legal force.
2. If acts have nevertheless been performed in reliance on such
a treaty:
(a) each party may require any other party to establish as far as
possible in their mutual relations the position that would have
existed if the acts had not been performed; (b) acts performed
in good faith before the invalidity was invoked are not rendered
unlawful by reason only of the invalidity of the treaty.
3. In cases falling under articles 49, 50, 51 or 52, paragraph 2
does not apply with respect to the party to which the fraud, the
act of corruption or the coercion is imputable.
4. In the case of the invalidity of a particular State's consent to
be bound by a multilateral treaty, the foregoing rules apply in
the relations between that State and the parties to the treaty.
Article 70
Consequences of the termination of a treaty
1. Unless the treaty otherwise provides or the parties otherwise
agree, the termination of a treaty under its provisions or in
accordance with the present Convention:
(a) releases the parties from any obligation further to perform
the treaty; (b) does not affect any right, obligation or legal
situation of the parties created through the execution of the
treaty prior to its termination.
2. If a State denounces or withdraws from a multilateral treaty,
paragraph 1 applies in the relations between that State and each
of the other parties to the treaty from the date when such
denunciation or withdrawal takes effect.
Article 71
Consequences of the invalidity of a treaty which conflicts
with a peremptory norm of general international law
1. In the case of a treaty which is void under article 53 the
parties shall:
(a) eliminate as far as possible the consequences of any act
performed in reliance on any provision which conflicts with the
peremptory norm of general international law; and (b) bring
their mutual relations into conformity with the peremptory
norm of general international law.
2. In the case of a treaty which becomes void and terminates
under article 64, the termination of the treaty:
(a) releases the parties from any obligation further to perform the
treaty; (b) does not affect any right, obligation or legal situation of
the parties created through the execution of the treaty prior to its
termination; provided that those rights, obligations or situations
may thereafter be maintained only to the extent that their
maintenance is not in itself in conflict with the new peremptory
norm of general international law.
Article 72
Consequences of the suspension of the operation of a treaty
1. Unless the treaty otherwise provides or the parties otherwise
agree, the suspension of the operation of a treaty under its
provisions or in accordance with the present Convention:
(a) releases the parties between which the operation of the treaty
is suspended from the obligation to perform the treaty in their
mutual relations during the period of the suspension; (b) does not
otherwise affect the legal relations between the parties established
by the treaty.
2. During the period of the suspension the parties shall refrain
from acts tending to obstruct the resumption of the operation of
the treaty.
PART VI
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Article 73
Cases of State succession, State responsibility and outbreak of
hostilities
The provisions of the present Convention shall not prejudge any
question that may arise in regard to a treaty from a succession of
States or from the international responsibility of a State or from
the outbreak of hostilities between States.
Article 74
Diplomatic and consular relations and the conclusion of
treaties
The severance or absence of diplomatic or consular relations
between two or more States does not prevent the conclusion of
treaties between those States. The conclusion of a treaty does not
in itself affect the situation in regard to diplomatic or consular
relations.
Article 75
Case of an aggressor State
The provisions of the present Convention are without prejudice to
any obligation in relation to a treaty which may arise for an
aggressor State in consequence of measures taken in conformity
with the Charter of the United Nations with reference to that
State's aggression.
PART VII
DEPOSITARIES, NOTIFICATIONS, CORRECTIONS
AND REGISTRATION
Article 76
Depositaries of treaties
1. The designation of the depositary of a treaty may be made
by the negotiating States, either in the treaty itself or in some
other manner. The depositary may be one or more States, an
international organization or the chief administrative officer of
the organization.
2. The functions of the depositary of a treaty are international
in character and the depositary is under an obligation to act
impartially in their performance. In particular, the fact that a
treaty has not entered into force between certain of the parties
or that a difference has appeared between a State and a
depositary with regard to the performance of the latter's
functions shall not affect that obligation.
Article 77
Functions of depositaries
1. The functions of a depositary, unless otherwise provided in
the treaty or agreed by the contracting States, comprise in
particular:
(a) keeping custody of the original text of the treaty and of any
full powers delivered to the depositary; (b) preparing certified
copies of the original text and preparing any further text of the
treaty in such additional languages as may be required by the
treaty and transmitting them to the parties and to the States
entitled to become parties to the treaty; (c) receiving any
signatures to the treaty and receiving and keeping custody of
any instruments, notifications and communications relating to
it; (d) examining whether the signature or any instrument,
notification or communication relating to the treaty is in due
and proper form and, if need be, bringing the matter to the
attention of the State in question; (e) informing the parties and
the States entitled to become parties to the treaty of acts,
notifications and communications relating to the treaty; (f)
informing the States entitled to become parties to the treaty
when the number of signatures or of instruments of ratification,
acceptance, approval or accession required for the entry into
force of the treaty has been received or deposited; (g)
registering the treaty with the Secretariat of the United Nations;
(h) performing the functions specified in other provisions of
the present Convention.
2. In the event of any difference appearing between a State and
the depositary as to the performance of the latter's functions,
the depositary shall bring the question to the attention of the
signatory States and the contracting States or, where
appropriate, of the competent organ of the international
organization concerned.
 Article 78 Article 80
Notifications and communications Registration and publication of treaties

Except as the treaty or the present Convention otherwise provide, 1. Treaties shall, after their entry into force, be transmitted to
any notification or communication to be made by any State under the Secretariat of the United Nations for registration or filing
the present Convention shall: and recording, as the case may be, and for publication.

(a) if there is no depositary, be transmitted direct to the States for 2. The designation of a depositary shall constitute authorization
which it is intended, or if there is a depositary, to the latter; (b) be for it to perform the acts specified in the preceding paragraph.
considered as having been made by the State in question only
upon its receipt by the State to which it was transmitted or, as the
case may be, upon its receipt by the depositary; (c) if transmitted
to a depositary, be considered as received by the State for which it
was intended only when the latter State has been informed by the
depositary in accordance with article 77, paragraph 1 (e).

Article 79
Correction of errors in texts or in certified copies of treaties
1. Where, after the authentication of the text of a treaty, the
signatory States and the contracting States are agreed that it
contains an error, the error shall, unless they decide upon some
other means of correction, be corrected:
(a) by having the appropriate correction made in the text and
causing the correction to be initialled by duly authorized
representatives; (b) by executing or exchanging an instrument or
instruments setting out the correction which it has been agreed to
make; or (c) by executing a corrected text of the whole treaty by
the same procedure as in the case of the original text.
2. Where the treaty is one for which there is a depositary, the
latter shall notify the signatory States and the contracting States of
the error and of the proposal to correct it and shall specify an
appropriate time-limit within which objection to the proposed
correction may be raised. If, on the expiry of the time-limit:
(a) no objection has been raised, the depositary shall make and
initial the correction in the text and shall execute a procŠs-verbal
of the rectification of the text and communicate a copy of it to the
parties and to the States entitled to become parties to the treaty; (b)
an objection has been raised, the depositary shall communicate the
objection to the signatory States and to the contracting States.
3. The rules in paragraphs 1 and 2 apply also where the text has
been authenticated in two or more languages and it appears that
there is a lack of concordance which the signatory States and the
contracting States agree should be corrected.
4. The corrected text replaces the defective text ab initio, unless
the signatory States and the contracting States otherwise decide.
5. The correction of the text of a treaty that has been registered
shall be notified to the Secretariat of the United Nations.
6. Where an error is discovered in a certified copy of a treaty, the
depositary shall execute a procŠs-verbal specifying the
rectification and communicate a copy of it to the signatory States
and to the contracting Slates.
PART VIII
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 81
Signature
The present Convention shall be open for signature by all
States Members of the United Nations or of any of the
specialized agencies or of the International Atomic Energy
Agency or parties to the Statute of the International Court of
Justice, and by any other State invited by the General
Assembly of the United Nations to become a party to the
Convention, as follows: until 30 November 1969, at the
Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Austria,
and subsequently, until 30 April 1970, at United Nations
Headquarters, New York.
Article 82
Ratification
The present Convention is subject to ratification. The
instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the
Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Article 83
Accession
The present Convention shall remain open for accession by any
State belonging to any of the categories mentioned in article 81.
The instruments of accession shall be deposited with the
Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Article 84
Entry into force
1. The present Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth
day following the date of deposit of the thirty-fifth instrument
of ratification or accession.
2. For each State ratifying or acceding to the Convention after
the deposit of the thirty-fifth instrument of ratification or
accession, the Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth
day after deposit by such State of its instrument of ratification or
accession.
Article 85
Authentic texts
The original of the present Convention, of which the Chinese,
English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic,
shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned Plenipotentiaries,
being duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments,
have signed the present Convention.
DONE at Vienna, this twenty-third day of May, one thousand nine
hundred and sixty-nine.
General either from the list or from the membership of the
International Law Commission. Any of the periods within
which appointments must be made may be extended by
agreement between the parties to the dispute.
Any vacancy shall be filled in the manner prescribed for the
initial appointment.
3. The Conciliation Commission shall decide its own procedure.
The Commission, with the consent of the parties to the dispute,
may invite any party to the treaty to submit to it its views orally
or in writing. Decisions and recommendations of the
Commission shall be made by a majority vote of the five
members.
4. The Commission may draw the attention of the parties to the
dispute to any measures which might facilitate an amicable
settlement.

5. The Commission shall hear the parties, examine the claims

ANNEX
1. A list of conciliators consisting of qualified jurists shall be
drawn up and maintained by the Secretary-General of the United
Nations. To this end, every State which is a Member of the United
Nations or a party to the present Convention shall be invited to
nominate two conciliators, and the names of the persons so
nominated shall constitute the list. The term of a conciliator,
including that of any conciliator nominated to fill a casual
vacancy, shall be five years and may be renewed. A conciliator
whose term expires shall continue to fulfil any function for which
he shall have been chosen under the following paragraph.
2. When a request has been made to the Secretary-General under
article 66, the Secretary-General shall bring the dispute before a
conciliation commission constituted as follows:
and objections, and make proposals to the parties with a view
to reaching an amicable settlement of the dispute.
6. The Commission shall report within twelve months of its
constitution. Its report shall be deposited with the Secretary-
General and transmitted to the parties to the dispute. The report
of the Commission, including any conclusions stated therein
regarding the facts or questions of law, shall not be binding
upon the parties and it shall have no other character than that of
recommendations submitted for the consideration of the parties
in order to facilitate an amicable settlement of the dispute.
7. The Secretary-General shall provide the Commission with
such assistance and facilities as it may require. The expenses of
the Commission shall be borne by the United Nations

The State or States constituting one of the parties to the dispute

shall appoint: (a) one conciliator of the nationality of that State or
of one of those States, who may or may not be chosen from the
list referred to in paragraph 1; and (b) one conciliator not of the
nationality of that State or of any of those States, who shall be
chosen from the list.

The State or States constituting the other party to the dispute shall
appoint two conciliators in the same way. The four conciliators
chosen by the parties shall be appointed within sixty days
following the date on which the Secretary-General receives the
request.

The four conciliators shall, within sixty days following the date of
the last of their own appointments, appoint a fifth conciliator
chosen from the list, who shall be chairman.

If the appointment of the chairman or of any of the other

conciliators has not been made within the period prescribed above
for such appointment, it shall be made by the Secretary-General
within sixty days following the expiry of that period. The
appointment of the chairman may be made by the Secretary-
 International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights

Preamble
The States Parties to the present Covenant,

Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed

in the Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the
inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all
members of the human family is the foundation of freedom,
justice and peace in the world,
Recognizing that these rights derive from the inherent dignity
of the human person,
Recognizing that, in accordance with the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, the ideal of free human beings enjoying civil
and political freedom and freedom from fear and want can only
be achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone may
enjoy his civil and political rights, as well as his economic,
social and cultural rights,
Considering the obligation of States under the Charter of the
United Nations to promote universal respect for, and
observance of, human rights and freedoms,
Realizing that the individual, having duties to other individuals
and to the community to which he belongs, is under a
responsibility to strive for the promotion and observance of the
rights recognized in the present Covenant,
Agree upon the following articles:

PART I
Article 1
1. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of
that right they freely determine their political status and freely
pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
2. All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their
natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any
obligations arising out of international economic co-operation,
based upon the principle of mutual benefit, and international law.
In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of
subsistence.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant, including those
having responsibility for the administration of Non-Self-
Governing and Trust Territories, shall promote the realization of
the right of self-determination, and shall respect that right, in
conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United
Nations.
PART II
Article 2
1. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect
and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to
its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant,
without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status.
2. Where not already provided for by existing legislative or other
measures, each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to
take the necessary steps, in accordance with its constitutional
processes and with the provisions of the present Covenant, to
adopt such laws or other measures as may be necessary to give
effect to the rights recognized in the present Covenant.
3. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes:
(a) To ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms as herein
recognized are violated shall have an effective remedy,
notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons
acting in an official capacity;
(b) To ensure that any person claiming such a remedy shall have
his right thereto determined by competent judicial, administrative
or legislative authorities, or by any other competent authority
provided for by the legal system of the State, and to develop the
possibilities of judicial remedy;
(c) To ensure that the competent authorities shall enforce such
remedies when granted.
Article 3
The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure the
equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and
political rights set forth in the present Covenant.
Article 4
1 . In time of public emergency which threatens the life of the
nation and the existence of which is officially proclaimed, the
States Parties to the present Covenant may take measures
derogating from their obligations under the present Covenant to
the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation,
provided that such measures are not inconsistent with their other
obligations under international law and do not involve
discrimination solely on the ground of race, colour, sex, language,
religion or social origin.
2. No derogation from articles 6, 7, 8 (paragraphs I and 2), 11, 15,
16 and 18 may be made under this provision.
3. Any State Party to the present Covenant availing itself of the
right of derogation shall immediately inform the other States
Parties to the present Covenant, through the intermediary of the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, of the provisions
from which it has derogated and of the reasons by which it was
actuated. A further communication shall be made, through the
same intermediary, on the date on which it terminates such
derogation.
Article 5
1. Nothing in the present Covenant may be interpreted as
implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in
any activity or perform any act aimed at the destruction of any
of the rights and freedoms recognized herein or at their
limitation to a greater extent than is provided for in the present
Covenant.
2. There shall be no restriction upon or derogation from any of
the fundamental human rights recognized or existing in any
State Party to the present Covenant pursuant to law,
conventions, regulations or custom on the pretext that the
present Covenant does not recognize such rights or that it
recognizes them to a lesser extent.
PART III
Article 6
1. Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right
shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived
of his life.
2. In countries which have not abolished the death penalty,
sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious
crimes in accordance with the law in force at the time of the
commission of the crime and not contrary to the provisions of
the present Covenant and to the Convention on the Prevention
and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This penalty can
only be carried out pursuant to a final judgement rendered by a
competent court.
3. When deprivation of life constitutes the crime of genocide, it
is understood that nothing in this article shall authorize any
State Party to the present Covenant to derogate in any way
from any obligation assumed under the provisions of the
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide.
4. Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek
pardon or commutation of the sentence. Amnesty, pardon or
commutation of the sentence of death may be granted in all
cases.
5. Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed
by persons below eighteen years of age and shall not be carried
out on pregnant women.
6. Nothing in this article shall be invoked to delay or to prevent
the abolition of capital punishment by any State Party to the
present Covenant.
Article 7
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall
be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific
experimentation.
Article 8
1. No one shall be held in slavery; slavery and the slave-trade in
all their forms shall be prohibited.
2. No one shall be held in servitude.
3.
(a) No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory
labour;
(b) Paragraph 3 (a) shall not be held to preclude, in countries
where imprisonment with hard labour may be imposed as a
punishment for a crime, the performance of hard labour in
pursuance of a sentence to such punishment by a competent court;
(c) For the purpose of this paragraph the term "forced or
compulsory labour" shall not include:
(i) Any work or service, not referred to in subparagraph (b),
normally required of a person who is under detention in
consequence of a lawful order of a court, or of a person during
conditional release from such detention;
(ii) Any service of a military character and, in countries where
conscientious objection is recognized, any national service
required by law of conscientious objectors;
(iii) Any service exacted in cases of emergency or calamity
threatening the life or well-being of the community;
(iv) Any work or service which forms part of normal civil
obligations.
Article 9
1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one
shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be
deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance
with such procedure as are established by law.
2. Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest,
of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any
charges against him.
3. Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be
brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by
law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a
reasonable time or to release. It shall not be the general rule that
persons awaiting trial shall be detained in custody, but release
may be subject to guarantees to appear for trial, at any other stage
of the judicial proceedings, and, should occasion arise, for
execution of the judgement.
4. Anyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention
shall be entitled to take proceedings before a court, in order that
that court may decide without delay on the lawfulness of his
detention and order his release if the detention is not lawful.
5. Anyone who has been the victim of unlawful arrest or detention
shall have an enforceable right to compensation.
Article 10
1. All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with
humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human
person.
2.
(a) Accused persons shall, save in exceptional circumstances,
be segregated from convicted persons and shall be subject to
separate treatment appropriate to their status as unconvicted
persons;
(b) Accused juvenile persons shall be separated from adults
and brought as speedily as possible for adjudication.
3. The penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of
prisoners the essential aim of which shall be their reformation
and social rehabilitation. Juvenile offenders shall be segregated
from adults and be accorded treatment appropriate to their age
and legal status.
Article 11
No one shall be imprisoned merely on the ground of inability
to fulfil a contractual obligation.
Article 12
1. Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within
that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and
freedom to choose his residence.
2. Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his
own.
3. The above-mentioned rights shall not be subject to any
restrictions except those which are provided by law, are
necessary to protect national security, public order (ordre
public), public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of
others, and are consistent with the other rights recognized in
the present Covenant.
4. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his
own country.
Article 13
An alien lawfully in the territory of a State Party to the present
Covenant may be expelled therefrom only in pursuance of a
decision reached in accordance with law and shall, except
where compelling reasons of national security otherwise
require, be allowed to submit the reasons against his expulsion
and to have his case reviewed by, and be represented for the
purpose before, the competent authority or a person or persons
especially designated by the competent authority.
Article 14
1. All persons shall be equal before the courts and tribunals. In
the determination of any criminal charge against him, or of his
rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled
to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and
impartial tribunal established by law. The press and the public
may be excluded from all or part of a trial for reasons of morals,
public order (ordre public) or national security in a democratic
society, or when the interest of the private lives of the parties
so requires, or to the extent strictly necessary in the opinion of
the court in special circumstances where publicity would
prejudice the interests of justice; but any judgement rendered in
a criminal case or in a suit at law shall be made public except
where the interest of juvenile persons otherwise requires or the
proceedings concern matrimonial disputes or the guardianship
of children.
2. Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the right
to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.
3. In the determination of any criminal charge against him,
everyone shall be entitled to the following minimum guarantees,
in full equality: (a) To be informed promptly and in detail in a
language which he understands of the nature and cause of the
charge against him;
(b) To have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his
defence and to communicate with counsel of his own choosing;
(c) To be tried without undue delay;
(d) To be tried in his presence, and to defend himself in person or
through legal assistance of his own choosing; to be informed, if he
does not have legal assistance, of this right; and to have legal
assistance assigned to him, in any case where the interests of
justice so require, and without payment by him in any such case if
he does not have sufficient means to pay for it;
(e) To examine, or have examined, the witnesses against him and
to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his
behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him;
(f) To have the free assistance of an interpreter if he cannot
understand or speak the language used in court;
(g) Not to be compelled to testify against himself or to confess
guilt.
4. In the case of juvenile persons, the procedure shall be such as
will take account of their age and the desirability of promoting
their rehabilitation.
5. Everyone convicted of a crime shall have the right to his
conviction and sentence being reviewed by a higher tribunal
according to law.
6. When a person has by a final decision been convicted of a
criminal offence and when subsequently his conviction has been
reversed or he has been pardoned on the ground that a new or
newly discovered fact shows conclusively that there has been a
miscarriage of justice, the person who has suffered punishment as
a result of such conviction shall be compensated according to law,
unless it is proved that the non-disclosure of the unknown fact in
time is wholly or partly attributable to him.
7. No one shall be liable to be tried or punished again for an
offence for which he has already been finally convicted or
acquitted in accordance with the law and penal procedure of each
country.
Article 15
1 . No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account
of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence,
under national or international law, at the time when it was
committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one
that was applicable at the time when the criminal offence was
committed. If, subsequent to the commission of the offence,
provision is made by law for the imposition of the lighter penalty,
the offender shall benefit thereby.
2. Nothing in this article shall prejudice the trial and punishment
of any person for any act or omission which, at the time when it
was committed, was criminal according to the general principles
of law recognized by the community of nations.
Article 16
Everyone shall have the right to recognition everywhere as a
person before the law.
Article 17
1. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful
interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence,
nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against
such interference or attacks.
Article 18
1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to
have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom,
either individually or in community with others and in public
or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship,
observance, practice and teaching.
2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his
freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.
3. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject
only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are
necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or
the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
4. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have
respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal
guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their
children in conformity with their own convictions.
Article 19
1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without
interference.
2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this
right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers,
either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or
through any other media of his choice.
3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this
article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may
therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only
be such as are provided by law and are necessary:
(a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others;
(b) For the protection of national security or of public order
(ordre public), or of public health or morals.
Article 20
1. Any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by law.
2. Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that
constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence
shall be prohibited by law.
Article 21
The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No
restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other
than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are
necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national
security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the
protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights
and freedoms of others.
Article 22
1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with
others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the
protection of his interests.
2. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other
than those which are prescribed by law and which are necessary in
a democratic society in the interests of national security or public
safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health
or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
This article shall not prevent the imposition of lawful restrictions
on members of the armed forces and of the police in their exercise
of this right.
3. Nothing in this article shall authorize States Parties to the
International Labour Organisation Convention of 1948 concerning
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize to
take legislative measures which would prejudice, or to apply the
law in such a manner as to prejudice, the guarantees provided for
in that Convention.
Article 23
1. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society
and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
2. The right of men and women of marriageable age to marry and
to found a family shall be recognized.
3. No marriage shall be entered into without the free and full
consent of the intending spouses.
4. States Parties to the present Covenant shall take appropriate
steps to ensure equality of rights and responsibilities of spouses as
to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. In the case of
dissolution, provision shall be made for the necessary protection
of any children.
Article 24
1. Every child shall have, without any discrimination as to race,
colour, sex, language, religion, national or social origin, property
or birth, the right to such measures of protection as are required
by his status as a minor, on the part of his family, society and the
State.
2. Every child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall
have a name.
3. Every child has the right to acquire a nationality.
Article 25
Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any
of the distinctions mentioned in article 2 and without
unreasonable restrictions:
(a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or
through freely chosen representatives;
(b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which
shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by
secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the
electors;
(c) To have access, on general terms of equality, to public
service in his country.
Article 26
All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without
any discrimination to the equal protection of the law. In this
respect, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee
to all persons equal and effective protection against
discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social
origin, property, birth or other status.
Article 27
In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic
minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not
be denied the right, in community with the other members of
their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise
their own religion, or to use their own language.
PART IV
Article 28
1. There shall be established a Human Rights Committee
(hereafter referred to in the present Covenant as the
Committee). It shall consist of eighteen members and shall
carry out the functions hereinafter provided.
2. The Committee shall be composed of nationals of the States
Parties to the present Covenant who shall be persons of high
moral character and recognized competence in the field of
human rights, consideration being given to the usefulness of
the participation of some persons having legal experience.
3. The members of the Committee shall be elected and shall
serve in their personal capacity.
Article 29
1. The members of the Committee shall be elected by secret
ballot from a list of persons possessing the qualifications
prescribed in article 28 and nominated for the purpose by the
States Parties to the present Covenant.
2. Each State Party to the present Covenant may nominate not
more than two persons. These persons shall be nationals of the
nominating State.
3. A person shall be eligible for renomination.
Article 30
1. The initial election shall be held no later than six months
after the date of the entry into force of the present Covenant.
2. At least four months before the date of each election to the
Committee, other than an election to fill a vacancy declared in
accordance with article 34, the Secretary-General of the United
Nations shall address a written invitation to the States Parties to
the present Covenant to submit their nominations for
membership of the Committee within three months.
3. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall prepare a
list in alphabetical order of all the persons thus nominated, with
an indication of the States Parties which have nominated them,
and shall submit it to the States Parties to the present Covenant no
later than one month before the date of each election.
4. Elections of the members of the Committee shall be held at a
meeting of the States Parties to the present Covenant convened by
the Secretary General of the United Nations at the Headquarters of
the United Nations. At that meeting, for which two thirds of the
States Parties to the present Covenant shall constitute a quorum,
the persons elected to the Committee shall be those nominees who
obtain the largest number of votes and an absolute majority of the
votes of the representatives of States Parties present and voting.
Article 31
1. The Committee may not include more than one national of the
same State.
2. In the election of the Committee, consideration shall be given
to equitable geographical distribution of membership and to the
representation of the different forms of civilization and of the
principal legal systems.
Article 32
1. The members of the Committee shall be elected for a term of
four years. They shall be eligible for re-election if renominated.
However, the terms of nine of the members elected at the first
election shall expire at the end of two years; immediately after the
first election, the names of these nine members shall be chosen by
lot by the Chairman of the meeting referred to in article 30,
paragraph 4.
2. Elections at the expiry of office shall be held in accordance
with the preceding articles of this part of the present Covenant.
Article 33
1. If, in the unanimous opinion of the other members, a member
of the Committee has ceased to carry out his functions for any
cause other than absence of a temporary character, the Chairman
of the Committee shall notify the Secretary-General of the United
Nations, who shall then declare the seat of that member to be
vacant.
2. In the event of the death or the resignation of a member of the
Committee, the Chairman shall immediately notify the Secretary-
General of the United Nations, who shall declare the seat vacant
from the date of death or the date on which the resignation takes
effect.
Article 34
1. When a vacancy is declared in accordance with article 33 and if
the term of office of the member to be replaced does not expire
within six months of the declaration of the vacancy, the Secretary-
General of the United Nations shall notify each of the States
Parties to the present Covenant, which may within two months
submit nominations in accordance with article 29 for the purpose
of filling the vacancy.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall prepare a list
in alphabetical order of the persons thus nominated and shall
submit it to the States Parties to the present Covenant. The
election to fill the vacancy shall then take place in accordance
with the relevant provisions of this part of the present Covenant.
3. A member of the Committee elected to fill a vacancy declared
in accordance with article 33 shall hold office for the remainder of
the term of the member who vacated the seat on the Committee
under the provisions of that article.
Article 35
The members of the Committee shall, with the approval of the
General Assembly of the United Nations, receive emoluments
from United Nations resources on such terms and conditions as
the General Assembly may decide, having regard to the
importance of the Committee's responsibilities.
Article 36
The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall provide the
necessary staff and facilities for the effective performance of
the functions of the Committee under the present Covenant.
Article 37
1. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall convene
the initial meeting of the Committee at the Headquarters of the
United Nations.
2. After its initial meeting, the Committee shall meet at such
times as shall be provided in its rules of procedure.
3. The Committee shall normally meet at the Headquarters of
the United Nations or at the United Nations Office at Geneva.
Article 38
Every member of the Committee shall, before taking up his
duties, make a solemn declaration in open committee that he
will perform his functions impartially and conscientiously.
Article 39
1. The Committee shall elect its officers for a term of two years.
They may be re-elected.
2. The Committee shall establish its own rules of procedure,
but these rules shall provide, inter alia, that:
(a) Twelve members shall constitute a quorum;
(b) Decisions of the Committee shall be made by a majority
vote of the members present.
Article 40
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to
submit reports on the measures they have adopted which give
effect to the rights recognized herein and on the progress made
in the enjoyment of those rights: (a) Within one year of the
entry into force of the present Covenant for the States Parties
concerned;
(b) Thereafter whenever the Committee so requests.
2. All reports shall be submitted to the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, who shall transmit them to the Committee for
consideration. Reports shall indicate the factors and difficulties,
if any, affecting the implementation of the present Covenant.
3. The Secretary-General of the United Nations may, after
consultation with the Committee, transmit to the specialized
agencies concerned copies of such parts of the reports as may
fall within their field of competence.
4. The Committee shall study the reports submitted by the States
Parties to the present Covenant. It shall transmit its reports, and
such general comments as it may consider appropriate, to the
States Parties. The Committee may also transmit to the Economic
and Social Council these comments along with the copies of the
reports it has received from States Parties to the present Covenant.
5. The States Parties to the present Covenant may submit to the
Committee observations on any comments that may be made in
accordance with paragraph 4 of this article.
Article 41
1. A State Party to the present Covenant may at any time declare
under this article that it recognizes the competence of the
Committee to receive and consider communications to the effect
that a State Party claims that another State Party is not fulfilling
its obligations under the present Covenant. Communications
under this article may be received and considered only if
submitted by a State Party which has made a declaration
recognizing in regard to itself the competence of the Committee.
No communication shall be received by the Committee if it
concerns a State Party which has not made such a declaration.
Communications received under this article shall be dealt with in
accordance with the following procedure:
(a) If a State Party to the present Covenant considers that another
State Party is not giving effect to the provisions of the present
Covenant, it may, by written communication, bring the matter to
the attention of that State Party. Within three months after the
receipt of the communication the receiving State shall afford the
State which sent the communication an explanation, or any other
statement in writing clarifying the matter which should include, to
the extent possible and pertinent, reference to domestic
procedures and remedies taken, pending, or available in the matter;
(b) If the matter is not adjusted to the satisfaction of both States
Parties concerned within six months after the receipt by the
receiving State of the initial communication, either State shall
have the right to refer the matter to the Committee, by notice
given to the Committee and to the other State;
(c) The Committee shall deal with a matter referred to it only after
it has ascertained that all available domestic remedies have been
invoked and exhausted in the matter, in conformity with the
generally recognized principles of international law. This shall not
be the rule where the application of the remedies is unreasonably
prolonged;
(d) The Committee shall hold closed meetings when examining
communications under this article;
(e) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (c), the Committee
shall make available its good offices to the States Parties
concerned with a view to a friendly solution of the matter on the
basis of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as
recognized in the present Covenant;
(f) In any matter referred to it, the Committee may call upon the
States Parties concerned, referred to in subparagraph (b), to
supply any relevant information;
(g) The States Parties concerned, referred to in subparagraph (b),
shall have the right to be represented when the matter is being
considered in the Committee and to make submissions orally
and/or in writing;
(h) The Committee shall, within twelve months after the date
of receipt of notice under subparagraph (b), submit a report:
(i) If a solution within the terms of subparagraph (e) is reached,
the Committee shall confine its report to a brief statement of
the facts and of the solution reached;
(ii) If a solution within the terms of subparagraph (e) is not
reached, the Committee shall confine its report to a brief
statement of the facts; the written submissions and record of
the oral submissions made by the States Parties concerned shall
be attached to the report. In every matter, the report shall be
communicated to the States Parties concerned.
2. The provisions of this article shall come into force when ten
States Parties to the present Covenant have made declarations
under paragraph I of this article. Such declarations shall be
deposited by the States Parties with the Secretary-General of
the United Nations, who shall transmit copies thereof to the
other States Parties. A declaration may be withdrawn at any
time by notification to the Secretary-General. Such a
withdrawal shall not prejudice the consideration of any matter
which is the subject of a communication already transmitted
under this article; no further communication by any State Party
shall be received after the notification of withdrawal of the
declaration has been received by the Secretary-General, unless
the State Party concerned has made a new declaration.
Article 42
1.
(a) If a matter referred to the Committee in accordance with
article 41 is not resolved to the satisfaction of the States Parties
concerned, the Committee may, with the prior consent of the
States Parties concerned, appoint an ad hoc Conciliation
Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Commission). The
good offices of the Commission shall be made available to the
States Parties concerned with a view to an amicable solution of
the matter on the basis of respect for the present Covenant;
(b) The Commission shall consist of five persons acceptable to
the States Parties concerned. If the States Parties concerned fail
to reach agreement within three months on all or part of the
composition of the Commission, the members of the
Commission concerning whom no agreement has been reached
shall be elected by secret ballot by a two-thirds majority vote
of the Committee from among its members.
2. The members of the Commission shall serve in their
personal capacity. They shall not be nationals of the States
Parties concerned, or of a State not Party to the present
Covenant, or of a State Party which has not made a declaration
under article 41.
3. The Commission shall elect its own Chairman and adopt its
own rules of procedure.
4. The meetings of the Commission shall normally be held at
the Headquarters of the United Nations or at the United
Nations Office at Geneva. However, they may be held at such
other convenient places as the Commission may determine in
consultation with the Secretary-General of the United Nations
and the States Parties concerned.
5. The secretariat provided in accordance with article 36 shall also
service the commissions appointed under this article.
6. The information received and collated by the Committee shall
be made available to the Commission and the Commission may
call upon the States Parties concerned to supply any other relevant
information.
7. When the Commission has fully considered the matter, but in
any event not later than twelve months after having been seized of
the matter, it shall submit to the Chairman of the Committee a
report for communication to the States Parties concerned:
(a) If the Commission is unable to complete its consideration of
the matter within twelve months, it shall confine its report to a
brief statement of the status of its consideration of the matter;
(b) If an amicable solution to the matter on tie basis of respect for
human rights as recognized in the present Covenant is reached,
the Commission shall confine its report to a brief statement of the
facts and of the solution reached;
(c) If a solution within the terms of subparagraph (b) is not
reached, the Commission's report shall embody its findings on all
questions of fact relevant to the issues between the States Parties
concerned, and its views on the possibilities of an amicable
solution of the matter. This report shall also contain the written
submissions and a record of the oral submissions made by the
States Parties concerned;
(d) If the Commission's report is submitted under subparagraph
(c), the States Parties concerned shall, within three months of the
receipt of the report, notify the Chairman of the Committee
whether or not they accept the contents of the report of the
Commission.
8. The provisions of this article are without prejudice to the
responsibilities of the Committee under article 41.
9. The States Parties concerned shall share equally all the
expenses of the members of the Commission in accordance with
estimates to be provided by the Secretary-General of the United
Nations.
10. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be
empowered to pay the expenses of the members of the
Commission, if necessary, before reimbursement by the States
Parties concerned, in accordance with paragraph 9 of this article.
Article 43
The members of the Committee, and of the ad hoc conciliation
commissions which may be appointed under article 42, shall be
entitled to the facilities, privileges and immunities of experts on
mission for the United Nations as laid down in the relevant
sections of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of
the United Nations.
Article 44
The provisions for the implementation of the present Covenant
shall apply without prejudice to the procedures prescribed in the
field of human rights by or under the constituent instruments and
the conventions of the United Nations and of the specialized
agencies and shall not prevent the States Parties to the present
Covenant from having recourse to other procedures for settling a
dispute in accordance with general or special international
agreements in force between them.
Article 45
The Committee shall submit to the General Assembly of the
United Nations, through the Economic and Social Council, an
annual report on its activities.
PART V
Article 46
Nothing in the present Covenant shall be interpreted as
impairing the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations
and of the constitutions of the specialized agencies which
define the respective responsibilities of the various organs of
the United Nations and of the specialized agencies in regard to
the matters dealt with in the present Covenant.
Article 47
Nothing in the present Covenant shall be interpreted as
impairing the inherent right of all peoples to enjoy and utilize
fully and freely their natural wealth and resources.
PART VI
Article 48
1. The present Covenant is open for signature by any State
Member of the United Nations or member of any of its
specialized agencies, by any State Party to the Statute of the
International Court of Justice, and by any other State which has
been invited by the General Assembly of the United Nations to
become a Party to the present Covenant.
2. The present Covenant is subject to ratification. Instruments
of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of
the United Nations.
3. The present Covenant shall be open to accession by any
State referred to in paragraph 1 of this article.
4. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument
of accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
5. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all
States which have signed this Covenant or acceded to it of the
deposit of each instrument of ratification or accession.
Article 49
1. The present Covenant shall enter into force three months
after the date of the deposit with the Secretary-General of the
United Nations of the thirty-fifth instrument of ratification or
instrument of accession.
2. For each State ratifying the present Covenant or acceding to
it after the deposit of the thirty-fifth instrument of ratification
or instrument of accession, the present Covenant shall enter
into force three months after the date of the deposit of its own
instrument of ratification or instrument of accession.
Article 50
The provisions of the present Covenant shall extend to all parts
of federal States without any limitations or exceptions.
Article 51
1. Any State Party to the present Covenant may propose an
amendment and file it with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall
thereupon communicate any proposed amendments to the States
Parties to the present Covenant with a request that they notify him
whether they favour a conference of States Parties for the purpose
of considering and voting upon the proposals. In the event that at
least one third of the States Parties favours such a conference, the
Secretary-General shall convene the conference under the
auspices of the United Nations. Any amendment adopted by a
majority of the States Parties present and voting at the conference
shall be submitted to the General Assembly of the United Nations
for approval.
2. Amendments shall come into force when they have been
approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations and
accepted by a two-thirds majority of the States Parties to the
present Covenant in accordance with their respective
constitutional processes. 3. When amendments come into force,
they shall be binding on those States Parties which have accepted
them, other States Parties still being bound by the provisions of
the present Covenant and any earlier amendment which they have
accepted.

Article 52
1. Irrespective of the notifications made under article 48,
paragraph 5, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall
inform all States referred to in paragraph I of the same article of
the following particulars:
(a) Signatures, ratifications and accessions under article 48;

(b) The date of the entry into force of the present Covenant under
International Covenant on Economic, Social
article 49 and the date of the entry into force of any amendments and Cultural Rights
under article 51.

Article 53
1. The present Covenant, of which the Chinese, English, French,
Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited
in the archives of the United Nations.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit
certified copies of the present Covenant to all States referred to in
article 48.
Preamble
The States Parties to the present Covenant,
Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed
in the Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the
inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all
members of the human family is the foundation of freedom,
justice and peace in the world,

Recognizing that these rights derive from the inherent dignity

of the human person,

Recognizing that, in accordance with the Universal Declaration

of Human Rights, the ideal of free human beings enjoying
freedom from fear and want can only be achieved if conditions
are created whereby everyone may enjoy his economic, social
and cultural rights, as well as his civil and political rights,

Considering the obligation of States under the Charter of the

United Nations to promote universal respect for, and
observance of, human rights and freedoms,

Realizing that the individual, having duties to other individuals

and to the community to which he belongs, is under a
responsibility to strive for the promotion and observance of the
rights recognized in the present Covenant,
Agree upon the following articles:

PART I
Article 1
1. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of
that right they freely determine their political status and freely
pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
2. All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their
natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations
arising out of international economic co-operation, based upon the
principle of mutual benefit, and international law. In no case may
a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant, including those
having responsibility for the administration of Non-Self-
Governing and Trust Territories, shall promote the realization of
the right of self-determination, and shall respect that right, in
conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United
Nations.
PART II
Article 2
1. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take
steps, individually and through international assistance and co-
operation, especially economic and technical, to the maximum of
its available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the
full realization of the rights recognized in the present Covenant by
all appropriate means, including particularly the adoption of
legislative measures.
2. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to
guarantee that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will
be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour,
sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or
social origin, property, birth or other status.
3. Developing countries, with due regard to human rights and their
national economy, may determine to what extent they would
guarantee the economic rights recognized in the present Covenant
to non-nationals.
Article 3
The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure the
equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic,
social and cultural rights set forth in the present Covenant.
Article 4
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that, in the
enjoyment of those rights provided by the State in conformity
with the present Covenant, the State may subject such rights only
to such limitations as are determined by law only in so far as this
may be compatible with the nature of these rights and solely for
the purpose of promoting the general welfare in a democratic
society.
Article 5
1. Nothing in the present Covenant may be interpreted as
implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any
activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of
the rights or freedoms recognized herein, or at their limitation to a
greater extent than is provided for in the present Covenant.
2. No restriction upon or derogation from any of the fundamental
human rights recognized or existing in any country in virtue of
law, conventions, regulations or custom shall be admitted on the
pretext that the present Covenant does not recognize such rights or
that it recognizes them to a lesser extent.
PART III
Article 6
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the
right to work, which includes the right of everyone to the
opportunity to gain his living by work which he freely chooses
or accepts, and will take appropriate steps to safeguard this
right.
2. The steps to be taken by a State Party to the present
Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall
include technical and vocational guidance and training
programmes, policies and techniques to achieve steady
economic, social and cultural development and full and
productive employment under conditions safeguarding
fundamental political and economic freedoms to the individual.
Article 7
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right
of everyone to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions
of work which ensure, in particular:
(a) Remuneration which provides all workers, as a minimum,
with:
(i) Fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value
without distinction of any kind, in particular women being
guaranteed conditions of work not inferior to those enjoyed by
men, with equal pay for equal work;
(ii) A decent living for themselves and their families in
accordance with the provisions of the present Covenant;
(b) Safe and healthy working conditions;
(c) Equal opportunity for everyone to be promoted in his
employment to an appropriate higher level, subject to no
considerations other than those of seniority and competence;
(d ) Rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours
and periodic holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for
public holidays
Article 8
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to
ensure:
(a) The right of everyone to form trade unions and join the
trade union of his choice, subject only to the rules of the
organization concerned, for the promotion and protection of his
economic and social interests. No restrictions may be placed on
the exercise of this right other than those prescribed by law and
which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of
national security or public order or for the protection of the
rights and freedoms of others;
(b) The right of trade unions to establish national federations or
confederations and the right of the latter to form or join
international trade-union organizations;
(c) The right of trade unions to function freely subject to no
limitations other than those prescribed by law and which are
necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national
security or public order or for the protection of the rights and
freedoms of others;
(d) The right to strike, provided that it is exercised in conformity
with the laws of the particular country.
2. This article shall not prevent the imposition of lawful
restrictions on the exercise of these rights by members of the
armed forces or of the police or of the administration of the State.
3. Nothing in this article shall authorize States Parties to the
International Labour Organisation Convention of 1948 concerning
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize to
take legislative measures which would prejudice, or apply the law
in such a manner as would prejudice, the guarantees provided for
in that Convention.
Article 9
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone to social security, including social insurance.
Article 10
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that:
1. The widest possible protection and assistance should be
accorded to the family, which is the natural and fundamental
group unit of society, particularly for its establishment and while
it is responsible for the care and education of dependent children.
Marriage must be entered into with the free consent of the
intending spouses.
2. Special protection should be accorded to mothers during a
reasonable period before and after childbirth. During such period
working mothers should be accorded paid leave or leave with
adequate social security benefits.
3. Special measures of protection and assistance should be taken
on behalf of all children and young persons without any
discrimination for reasons of parentage or other conditions.
Children and young persons should be protected from economic
and social exploitation. Their employment in work harmful to
their morals or health or dangerous to life or likely to hamper their
normal development should be punishable by law. States should
also set age limits below which the paid employment of child
labour should be prohibited and punishable by law.
Article 11
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right
of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his
family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the
continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties
will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right,
recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international
co-operation based on free consent.
2. The States Parties to the present Covenant, recognizing the
fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger, shall take,
individually and through international co-operation, the measures,
including specific programmes, which are needed:
(a) To improve methods of production, conservation and
distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific
knowledge, by disseminating knowledge of the principles of
nutrition and by developing or reforming agrarian systems in such
a way as to achieve the most efficient development and utilization
of natural resources;
(b) Taking into account the problems of both food-importing
and food-exporting countries, to ensure an equitable
distribution of world food supplies in relation to need.
Article 12
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the
right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable
standard of physical and mental health.
2. The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present
Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall
include those necessary for:
(a) The provision for the reduction of the stillbirth-rate and of
infant mortality and for the healthy development of the child;
(b) The improvement of all aspects of environmental and
industrial hygiene;
(c) The prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic,
occupational and other diseases;
(d) The creation of conditions which would assure to all
medical service and medical attention in the event of sickness.
Article 13
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the
right of everyone to education. They agree that education shall
be directed to the full development of the human personality
and the sense of its dignity, and shall strengthen the respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms. They further agree
that education shall enable all persons to participate effectively
in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and
friendship among all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious
groups, and further the activities of the United Nations for the
maintenance of peace.
2. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that,
with a view to achieving the full realization of this right:
(a) Primary education shall be compulsory and available free to
all;
(b) Secondary education in its different forms, including
technical and vocational secondary education, shall be made
generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate
means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free
education;
(c) Higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on
the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in
particular by the progressive introduction of free education;
(d) Fundamental education shall be encouraged or intensified
as far as possible for those persons who have not received or
completed the whole period of their primary education;
(e) The development of a system of schools at all levels shall
be actively pursued, an adequate fellowship system shall be
established, and the material conditions of teaching staff shall
be continuously improved.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have
respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal
guardians to choose for their children schools, other than those
established by the public authorities, which conform to such
minimum educational standards as may be laid down or
approved by the State and to ensure the religious and moral
education of their children in conformity with their own
convictions.
4. No part of this article shall be construed so as to interfere with
the liberty of individuals and bodies to establish and direct
educational institutions, subject always to the observance of the
principles set forth in paragraph I of this article and to the
requirement that the education given in such institutions shall
conform to such minimum standards as may be laid down by the
State.
Article 14
Each State Party to the present Covenant which, at the time of
becoming a Party, has not been able to secure in its metropolitan
territory or other territories under its jurisdiction compulsory
primary education, free of charge, undertakes, within two years, to
work out and adopt a detailed plan of action for the progressive
implementation, within a reasonable number of years, to be fixed
in the plan, of the principle of compulsory education free of
charge for all.
Article 15
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right
of everyone:
(a) To take part in cultural life;
(b) To enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications;
(c) To benefit from the protection of the moral and material
interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic
production of which he is the author.
2. The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present
Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include
those necessary for the conservation, the development and the
diffusion of science and culture.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to respect
the freedom indispensable for scientific research and creative
activity.
4. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the
benefits to be derived from the encouragement and development
of international contacts and co-operation in the scientific and
cultural fields.
PART IV
Article 16
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to submit
in conformity with this part of the Covenant reports on the
measures which they have adopted and the progress made in
achieving the observance of the rights recognized herein.
2.
(a) All reports shall be submitted to the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, who shall transmit copies to the Economic and
Social Council for consideration in accordance with the provisions
of the present Covenant;
(b) The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall also
transmit to the specialized agencies copies of the reports, or any
relevant parts therefrom, from States Parties to the present
Covenant which are also members of these specialized agencies in
so far as these reports, or parts therefrom, relate to any matters
which fall within the responsibilities of the said agencies in
accordance with their constitutional instruments.
Article 17
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant shall furnish their
reports in stages, in accordance with a programme to be
established by the Economic and Social Council within one
year of the entry into force of the present Covenant after
consultation with the States Parties and the specialized
agencies concerned.
2. Reports may indicate factors and difficulties affecting the
degree of fulfilment of obligations under the present Covenant.
3. Where relevant information has previously been furnished to
the United Nations or to any specialized agency by any State
Party to the present Covenant, it will not be necessary to
reproduce that information, but a precise reference to the
information so furnished will suffice.
Article 18
Pursuant to its responsibilities under the Charter of the United
Nations in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
the Economic and Social Council may make arrangements with
the specialized agencies in respect of their reporting to it on the
progress made in achieving the observance of the provisions of
the present Covenant falling within the scope of their activities.
These reports may include particulars of decisions and
recommendations on such implementation adopted by their
competent organs.
Article 19
The Economic and Social Council may transmit to the
Commission on Human Rights for study and general
recommendation or, as appropriate, for information the reports
concerning human rights submitted by States in accordance
with articles 16 and 17, and those concerning human rights
submitted by the specialized agencies in accordance with
article 18.
Article 20
The States Parties to the present Covenant and the specialized
agencies concerned may submit comments to the Economic
and Social Council on any general recommendation under
article 19 or reference to such general recommendation in any
report of the Commission on Human Rights or any
documentation referred to therein.
Article 21
The Economic and Social Council may submit from time to
time to the General Assembly reports with recommendations of
a general nature and a summary of the information received
from the States Parties to the present Covenant and the
specialized agencies on the measures taken and the progress
made in achieving general observance of the rights recognized
in the present Covenant.
Article 22
The Economic and Social Council may bring to the attention of
other organs of the United Nations, their subsidiary organs and
specialized agencies concerned with furnishing technical
assistance any matters arising out of the reports referred to in
this part of the present Covenant which may assist such bodies in
deciding, each within its field of competence, on the advisability
of international measures likely to contribute to the effective
progressive implementation of the present Covenant.
Article 23
The States Parties to the present Covenant agree that international
action for the achievement of the rights recognized in the present
Covenant includes such methods as the conclusion of conventions,
the adoption of recommendations, the furnishing of technical
assistance and the holding of regional meetings and technical
meetings for the purpose of consultation and study organized in
conjunction with the Governments concerned.
Article 24
Nothing in the present Covenant shall be interpreted as impairing
the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and of the
constitutions of the specialized agencies which define the
respective responsibilities of the various organs of the United
Nations and of the specialized agencies in regard to the matters
dealt with in the present Covenant.
Article 25
Nothing in the present Covenant shall be interpreted as impairing
the inherent right of all peoples to enjoy and utilize fully and
freely their natural wealth and resources.
PART V
Article 26
1. The present Covenant is open for signature by any State
Member of the United Nations or member of any of its specialized
agencies, by any State Party to the Statute of the International
Court of Justice, and by any other State which has been invited by
the General Assembly of the United Nations to become a party to
the present Covenant.
2. The present Covenant is subject to ratification. Instruments of
ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the
United Nations.
3. The present Covenant shall be open to accession by any State
referred to in paragraph 1 of this article.
4. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of
accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
5. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all
States which have signed the present Covenant or acceded to it of
the deposit of each instrument of ratification or accession.
Article 27
1. The present Covenant shall enter into force three months after
the date of the deposit with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations of the thirty-fifth instrument of ratification or instrument
of accession.
2. For each State ratifying the present Covenant or acceding to it
after the deposit of the thirty-fifth instrument of ratification or
instrument of accession, the present Covenant shall enter into
force three months after the date of the deposit of its own
instrument of ratification or instrument of accession.
Article 28
The provisions of the present Covenant shall extend to all parts
of federal States without any limitations or exceptions.
Article 29
1. Any State Party to the present Covenant may propose an
amendment and file it with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations. The Secretary-General shall thereupon communicate
any proposed amendments to the States Parties to the present
Covenant with a request that they notify him whether they
favour a conference of States Parties for the purpose of
considering and voting upon the proposals. In the event that at
least one third of the States Parties favours such a conference,
the Secretary-General shall convene the conference under the
auspices of the United Nations. Any amendment adopted by a
majority of the States Parties present and voting at the
conference shall be submitted to the General Assembly of the
United Nations for approval.
2. Amendments shall come into force when they have been
approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations and
accepted by a two-thirds majority of the States Parties to the
present Covenant in accordance with their respective
constitutional processes.
3. When amendments come into force they shall be binding on
those States Parties which have accepted them, other States
Parties still being bound by the provisions of the present
Covenant and any earlier amendment which they have accepted.
Article 30
Irrespective of the notifications made under article 26,
paragraph 5, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall
inform all States referred to in paragraph I of the same article
of the following particulars:
(a) Signatures, ratifications and accessions under article 26;
(b) The date of the entry into force of the present Covenant
under article 27 and the date of the entry into force of any
amendments under article 29.
Article 31
1. The present Covenant, of which the Chinese, English,
French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall
be deposited in the archives of the United Nations.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit
certified copies of the present Covenant to all States referred to
in article 26.
 UN CHARTER
WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS
DETERMINED

to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war,

which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to
mankind, and

to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the

dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of
men and women and of nations large and small, and

to establish conditions under which justice and respect for

the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of
international law can be maintained, and

to promote social progress and better standards of life in

larger freedom,

AND FOR THESE ENDS

to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one

another as good neighbours, and

to unite our strength to maintain international peace and

security, and

to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the

institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used,
save in the common interest, and

to employ international machinery for the promotion of the

economic and social advancement of all peoples,
HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO
ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS
Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives
assembled in the city of San Francisco, who have exhibited their
full powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the
present Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an
international organization to be known as the United Nations.
CHAPTER I: PURPOSES AND PRINCIPLES
Article 1
The Purposes of the United Nations are:
1.To maintain international peace and security, and to that
end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention
and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression
of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to
bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the
principles of justice and international law, adjustment or
settlement of international disputes or situations which might
lead to a breach of the peace;
2.To develop friendly relations among nations based on
respect for the principle of equal rights and self-
determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate
measures to strengthen universal peace;
3.To achieve international co-operation in solving
international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or
humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging
respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for
all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion;
and
4.To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the
attainment of these common ends.
Article 2
The Organization and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes
stated in Article 1, shall act in accordance with the following
Principles.
1.The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign
equality of all its Members.
2.All Members, in order to ensure to all of them the rights
and benefits resulting from membership, shall fulfill in good
faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the
present Charter.
3.All Members shall settle their international disputes by
peaceful means in such a manner that international peace
and security, and justice, are not endangered.
4.All Members shall refrain in their international relations
from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity
or political independence of any state, or in any other
manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.
5.All Members shall give the United Nations every
assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the
present Charter, and shall refrain from giving assistance
to any state against which the United Nations is taking
preventive or enforcement action.
6.The Organization shall ensure that states which are not
Members of the United Nations act in accordance with
these Principles so far as may be necessary for the
maintenance of international peace and security.
7.Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize
the United Nations to intervene in matters which are
essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or
shall require the Members to submit such matters to
settlement under the present Charter; but this principle
shall not prejudice the application of enforcement
measures under Chapter Vll.
CHAPTER II: MEMBERSHIP
Article 3
The original Members of the United Nations shall be the states
which, having participated in the United Nations Conference
on International Organization at San Francisco, or having
previously signed the Declaration by United Nations of 1
January 1942, sign the present Charter and ratify it in
accordance with Article 110.
Article 4
1.Membership in the United Nations is open to all other
peace-loving states which accept the obligations
contained in the present Charter and, in the judgment of
the Organization, are able and willing to carry out these
obligations.
2.The admission of any such state to membership in the
United Nations will be effected by a decision of the
General Assembly upon the recommendation of the
Security Council.
Article 5
A Member of the United Nations against which preventive or
enforcement action has been taken by the Security Council
may be suspended from the exercise of the rights and privileges
of membership by the General Assembly upon the
recommendation of the Security Council. The exercise of these
rights and privileges may be restored by the Security Council.
Article 6
A Member of the United Nations which has persistently
violated the Principles contained in the present Charter may be
expelled from the Organization by the General Assembly upon
the recommendation of the Security Council.
CHAPTER III: ORGANS
Article 7
1.There are established as principal organs of the United
Nations: a General Assembly, a Security Council, an
 Economic and Social Council, a Trusteeship Council, an
International Court of Justice and a Secretariat.
2.Such subsidiary organs as may be found necessary may be
established in accordance with the present Charter.
Article 8
The United Nations shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of
men and women to participate in any capacity and under
conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs.
CHAPTER IV: THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
COMPOSITION
Article 9
1.The General Assembly shall consist of all the Members of
the United Nations.
2.Each Member shall have not more than five
representatives in the General Assembly.
FUNCTIONS and POWERS
Article 10
The General Assembly may discuss any questions or any matters
within the scope of the present Charter or relating to the powers
and functions of any organs provided for in the present Charter,
and, except as provided in Article 12, may make
recommendations to the Members of the United Nations or to the
Security Council or to both on any such questions or matters.
Article 11
1.The General Assembly may consider the general principles
of co-operation in the maintenance of international peace
and security, including the principles governing
disarmament and the regulation of armaments, and may
make recommendations with regard to such principles to the
Members or to the Security Council or to both.
2.The General Assembly may discuss any questions relating
to the maintenance of international peace and security
brought before it by any Member of the United Nations, or
by the Security Council, or by a state which is not a Member
of the United Nations in accordance with Article 35,
paragraph 2, and, except as provided in Article 12, may
make recommendations with regard to any such questions to
the state or states concerned or to the Security Council or to
both. Any such question on which action is necessary shall
be referred to the Security Council by the General Assembly
either before or after discussion.
3.The General Assembly may call the attention of the
Security Council to situations which are likely to endanger
international peace and security.
4.The powers of the General Assembly set forth in this
Article shall not limit the general scope of Article 10.
Article 12
1.While the Security Council is exercising in respect of
any dispute or situation the functions assigned to it in the
present Charter, the General Assembly shall not make any
recommendation with regard to that dispute or situation
unless the Security Council so requests.
2.The Secretary-General, with the consent of the Security
Council, shall notify the General Assembly at each
session of any matters relative to the maintenance of
international peace and security which are being dealt
with by the Security Council and shall similarly notify the
General Assembly, or the Members of the United Nations
if the General Assembly is not in session, immediately the
Security Council ceases to deal with such matters.
Article 13
1.The General Assembly shall initiate studies and make
recommendations for the purpose of:
1.promoting international co-operation in the
political field and encouraging the progressive
development of international law and its codification;
2.promoting international co-operation in the
economic, social, cultural, educational, and health
fields, and assisting in the realization of human
rights and fundamental freedoms for all without
distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.
3.The further responsibilities, functions and powers
of the General Assembly with respect to matters
mentioned in paragraph 1 (b) above are set forth in
Chapters IX and X.
Article 14
Subject to the provisions of Article 12, the General Assembly
may recommend measures for the peaceful adjustment of any
situation, regardless of origin, which it deems likely to impair
the general welfare or friendly relations among nations,
including situations resulting from a violation of the provisions
of the present Charter setting forth the Purposes and Principles
of the United Nations.
Article 15
1.The General Assembly shall receive and consider
annual and special reports from the Security Council;
these reports shall include an account of the measures that
the Security Council has decided upon or taken to
maintain international peace and security.
2.The General Assembly shall receive and consider
reports from the other organs of the United Nations.
Article 16
The General Assembly shall perform such functions with
respect to the international trusteeship system as are assigned
to it under Chapters XII and XIII, including the approval of the
trusteeship agreements for areas not designated as strategic.
Article 17
1.The General Assembly shall consider and approve the
budget of the Organization.
 2.The expenses of the Organization shall be borne by the
Members as apportioned by the General Assembly.
3.The General Assembly shall consider and approve any
financial and budgetary arrangements with specialized
agencies referred to in Article 57 and shall examine the
administrative budgets of such specialized agencies with a
view to making recommendations to the agencies concerned.
VOTING
Article 18
1.Each member of the General Assembly shall have one vote.
2.Decisions of the General Assembly on important questions
shall be made by a two-thirds majority of the members
present and voting. These questions shall include:
recommendations with respect to the maintenance of
international peace and security, the election of the non-
permanent members of the Security Council, the election of
the members of the Economic and Social Council, the
election of members of the Trusteeship Council in
accordance with paragraph 1 (c) of Article 86, the admission
of new Members to the United Nations, the suspension of
the rights and privileges of membership, the expulsion of
Members, questions relating to the operation of the
trusteeship system, and budgetary questions.
3.Decisions on other questions, including the determination
of additional categories of questions to be decided by a two-
thirds majority, shall be made by a majority of the members
present and voting.
Article 19
A Member of the United Nations which is in arrears in the
payment of its financial contributions to the Organization shall
have no vote in the General Assembly if the amount of its arrears
equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for
the preceding two full years. The General Assembly may,
nevertheless, permit such a Member to vote if it is satisfied that
the failure to pay is due to conditions beyond the control of the
Member.
PROCEDURE
Article 20
The General Assembly shall meet in regular annual sessions and
in such special sessions as occasion may require. Special sessions
shall be convoked by the Secretary-General at the request of the
Security Council or of a majority of the Members of the United
Nations.
Article 21
The General Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure. It
shall elect its President for each session.
Article 22
The General Assembly may establish such subsidiary organs as
it deems necessary for the performance of its functions.
CHAPTER V: THE SECURITY COUNCIL
COMPOSITION
Article 23
1.The Security Council shall consist of fifteen Members
of the United Nations. The Republic of China, France, the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United
States of America shall be permanent members of the
Security Council. The General Assembly shall elect ten
other Members of the United Nations to be non-
permanent members of the Security Council, due regard
being specially paid, in the first instance to the
contribution of Members of the United Nations to the
maintenance of international peace and security and to the
other purposes of the Organization, and also to equitable
geographical distribution.
2.The non-permanent members of the Security Council
shall be elected for a term of two years. In the first
election of the non-permanent members after the increase
of the membership of the Security Council from eleven to
fifteen, two of the four additional members shall be
chosen for a term of one year. A retiring member shall not
be eligible for immediate re-election.
3.Each member of the Security Council shall have one
representative.
FUNCTIONS and POWERS
Article 24
1.In order to ensure prompt and effective action by the
United Nations, its Members confer on the Security
Council primary responsibility for the maintenance of
international peace and security, and agree that in
carrying out its duties under this responsibility the
Security Council acts on their behalf.
2.In discharging these duties the Security Council shall
act in accordance with the Purposes and Principles of the
United Nations. The specific powers granted to the
Security Council for the discharge of these duties are laid
down in Chapters VI, VII, VIII, and XII.
3.The Security Council shall submit annual and, when
necessary, special reports to the General Assembly for its
consideration.
Article 25
The Members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry
out the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with
the present Charter.
Article 26
In order to promote the establishment and maintenance of
international peace and security with the least diversion for
armaments of the world's human and economic resources, the
Security Council shall be responsible for formulating, with the
assistance of the Military Staff Committee referred to in Article
47, plans to be submitted to the Members of the United Nations
for the establishment of a system for the regulation of armaments.
VOTING
Article 27
1.Each member of the Security Council shall have one vote.
2.Decisions of the Security Council on procedural matters
shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members.
3.Decisions of the Security Council on all other matters shall
be made by an affirmative vote of nine members including
the concurring votes of the permanent members; provided
that, in decisions under Chapter VI, and under paragraph 3
of Article 52, a party to a dispute shall abstain from voting.
PROCEDURE
Article 28
1.The Security Council shall be so organized as to be able to
function continuously. Each member of the Security Council
shall for this purpose be represented at all times at the seat of
the Organization.
2.The Security Council shall hold periodic meetings at
which each of its members may, if it so desires, be
represented by a member of the government or by some
other specially designated representative.
3.The Security Council may hold meetings at such places
other than the seat of the Organization as in its judgment will
best facilitate its work.
Article 29
The Security Council may establish such subsidiary organs as it
deems necessary for the performance of its functions.
Article 30
The Security Council shall adopt its own rules of procedure,
including the method of selecting its President.
Article 31
Any Member of the United Nations which is not a member of the
Security Council may participate, without vote, in the discussion
of any question brought before the Security Council whenever the
latter considers that the interests of that Member are specially
affected.
Article 32
Any Member of the United Nations which is not a member of
the Security Council or any state which is not a Member of the
United Nations, if it is a party to a dispute under consideration
by the Security Council, shall be invited to participate, without
vote, in the discussion relating to the dispute. The Security
Council shall lay down such conditions as it deems just for the
participation of a state which is not a Member of the United
Nations.
CHAPTER VI: PACIFIC SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES
Article 33
1.The parties to any dispute, the continuance of which is
likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace
and security, shall, first of all, seek a solution by
negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration,
judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or
arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own
choice.
2.The Security Council shall, when it deems necessary,
call upon the parties to settle their dispute by such means.
Article 34
The Security Council may investigate any dispute, or any
situation which might lead to international friction or give rise
to a dispute, in order to determine whether the continuance of
the dispute or situation is likely to endanger the maintenance of
international peace and security.
Article 35
1.Any Member of the United Nations may bring any
dispute, or any situation of the nature referred to in
Article 34, to the attention of the Security Council or of
the General Assembly.
2.A state which is not a Member of the United Nations
may bring to the attention of the Security Council or of
the General Assembly any dispute to which it is a party if
it accepts in advance, for the purposes of the dispute, the
obligations of pacific settlement provided in the present
Charter.
3.The proceedings of the General Assembly in respect of
matters brought to its attention under this Article will be
subject to the provisions of Articles 11 and 12.
Article 36
1.The Security Council may, at any stage of a dispute of
the nature referred to in Article 33 or of a situation of like
nature, recommend appropriate procedures or methods of
adjustment.
2.The Security Council should take into consideration any
procedures for the settlement of the dispute which have
already been adopted by the parties.
3.In making recommendations under this Article the
Security Council should also take into consideration that
legal disputes should as a general rule be referred by the
 parties to the International Court of Justice in accordance
with the provisions of the Statute of the Court.
Article 37
1.Should the parties to a dispute of the nature referred to in
Article 33 fail to settle it by the means indicated in that
Article, they shall refer it to the Security Council.
2.If the Security Council deems that the continuance of the
dispute is in fact likely to endanger the maintenance of
international peace and security, it shall decide whether to
take action under Article 36 or to recommend such terms of
settlement as it may consider appropriate.
Article 38
Without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 33 to 37, the
Security Council may, if all the parties to any dispute so request,
make recommendations to the parties with a view to a pacific
settlement of the dispute.
CHAPTER VII: ACTION WITH RESPECT TO THREATS
TO THE PEACE, BREACHES OF THE PEACE, AND
ACTS OF AGGRESSION
Article 39
The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat
to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall
make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken in
accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to maintain or restore
international peace and security.
Article 40
In order to prevent an aggravation of the situation, the Security
Council may, before making the recommendations or deciding
upon the measures provided for in Article 39, call upon the parties
concerned to comply with such provisional measures as it deems
necessary or desirable. Such provisional measures shall be
without prejudice to the rights, claims, or position of the parties
concerned. The Security Council shall duly take account of failure
to comply with such provisional measures.
Article 41
The Security Council may decide what measures not involving the
use of armed force are to be employed to give effect to its
decisions, and it may call upon the Members of the United
Nations to apply such measures. These may include complete or
partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air,
postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication, and
the severance of diplomatic relations.
Article 42
Should the Security Council consider that measures provided for
in Article 41 would be inadequate or have proved to be inadequate,
it may take such action by air, sea, or land forces as may be
necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security.
Such action may include demonstrations, blockade, and other
operations by air, sea, or land forces of Members of the United
Nations.
Article 43
1.All Members of the United Nations, in order to
contribute to the maintenance of international peace and
security, undertake to make available to the Security
Council, on its call and in accordance with a special
agreement or agreements, armed forces, assistance, and
facilities, including rights of passage, necessary for the
purpose of maintaining international peace and security.
2.Such agreement or agreements shall govern the
numbers and types of forces, their degree of readiness and
general location, and the nature of the facilities and
assistance to be provided.
3.The agreement or agreements shall be negotiated as
soon as possible on the initiative of the Security Council.
They shall be concluded between the Security Council
and Members or between the Security Council and groups
of Members and shall be subject to ratification by the
signatory states in accordance with their respective
constitutional processes.
Article 44
When the Security Council has decided to use force it shall,
before calling upon a Member not represented on it to provide
armed forces in fulfilment of the obligations assumed under
Article 43, invite that Member, if the Member so desires, to
participate in the decisions of the Security Council concerning
the employment of contingents of that Member's armed forces.
Article 45
In order to enable the United Nations to take urgent military
measures, Members shall hold immediately available national
air-force contingents for combined international enforcement
action. The strength and degree of readiness of these
contingents and plans for their combined action shall be
determined within the limits laid down in the special agreement
or agreements referred to in Article 43, by the Security Council
with the assistance of the Military Staff Committee.
Article 46
Plans for the application of armed force shall be made by the
Security Council with the assistance of the Military Staff
Committee.
Article 47
1.There shall be established a Military Staff Committee to
advise and assist the Security Council on all questions
relating to the Security Council's military requirements
for the maintenance of international peace and security,
the employment and command of forces placed at its
disposal, the regulation of armaments, and possible
disarmament.
2.The Military Staff Committee shall consist of the Chiefs
of Staff of the permanent members of the Security
Council or their representatives. Any Member of the
United Nations not permanently represented on the
Committee shall be invited by the Committee to be
associated with it when the efficient discharge of the
Committee's responsibilities requires the participation of
that Member in its work.
 3.The Military Staff Committee shall be responsible under
the Security Council for the strategic direction of any armed
forces placed at the disposal of the Security Council.
Questions relating to the command of such forces shall be
worked out subsequently.
4.The Military Staff Committee, with the authorization of
the Security Council and after consultation with appropriate
regional agencies, may establish regional sub-committees.
Article 48
1.The action required to carry out the decisions of the
Security Council for the maintenance of international peace
and security shall be taken by all the Members of the United
Nations or by some of them, as the Security Council may
determine.
2.Such decisions shall be carried out by the Members of the
United Nations directly and through their action in the
appropriate international agencies of which they are
members.
Article 49
The Members of the United Nations shall join in affording mutual
assistance in carrying out the measures decided upon by the
Security Council.
Article 50
If preventive or enforcement measures against any state are taken
by the Security Council, any other state, whether a Member of the
United Nations or not, which finds itself confronted with special
economic problems arising from the carrying out of those
measures shall have the right to consult the Security Council with
regard to a solution of those problems.
Article 51
Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of
individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs
against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security
Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international
peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of
this right of self-defence shall be immediately reported to the
Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and
responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to
take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to
maintain or restore international peace and security.
CHAPTER VIII: REGIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
Article 52
1.Nothing in the present Charter precludes the existence of
regional arrangements or agencies for dealing with such
matters relating to the maintenance of international peace
and security as are appropriate for regional action provided
that such arrangements or agencies and their activities are
consistent with the Purposes and Principles of the United
Nations.
2.The Members of the United Nations entering into such
arrangements or constituting such agencies shall make every
effort to achieve pacific settlement of local disputes through
such regional arrangements or by such regional agencies
before referring them to the Security Council.
3.The Security Council shall encourage the development
of pacific settlement of local disputes through such
regional arrangements or by such regional agencies either
on the initiative of the states concerned or by reference
from the Security Council.
4.This Article in no way impairs the application of
Articles 34 and 35.
Article 53
1.The Security Council shall, where appropriate, utilize
such regional arrangements or agencies for enforcement
action under its authority. But no enforcement action shall
be taken under regional arrangements or by regional
agencies without the authorization of the Security Council,
with the exception of measures against any enemy state,
as defined in paragraph 2 of this Article, provided for
pursuant to Article 107 or in regional arrangements
directed against renewal of aggressive policy on the part
of any such state, until such time as the Organization may,
on request of the Governments concerned, be charged
with the responsibility for preventing further aggression
by such a state.
2.The term enemy state as used in paragraph 1 of this
Article applies to any state which during the Second
World War has been an enemy of any signatory of the
present Charter.
Article 54
The Security Council shall at all times be kept fully informed
of activities undertaken or in contemplation under regional
arrangements or by regional agencies for the maintenance of
international peace and security.
CHAPTER IX: INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL CO-OPERATION
Article 55
With a view to the creation of conditions of stability and well-
being which are necessary for peaceful and friendly relations
among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights
and self-determination of peoples, the United Nations shall
promote:
a. higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions
of economic and social progress and development;
b. solutions of international economic, social, health, and
related problems; and international cultural and educational
cooperation; and
c. universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and
fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex,
language, or religion.
Article 56
All Members pledge themselves to take joint and separate action
in co-operation with the Organization for the achievement of the
purposes set forth in Article 55.
Article 57
1.The various specialized agencies, established by
intergovernmental agreement and having wide international
responsibilities, as defined in their basic instruments, in
economic, social, cultural, educational, health, and related
fields, shall be brought into relationship with the United
Nations in accordance with the provisions of Article 63.
2.Such agencies thus brought into relationship with the
United Nations are hereinafter referred to as specialized
agencies.
Article 58
The Organization shall make recommendations for the co-
ordination of the policies and activities of the specialized agencies.
Article 59
The Organization shall, where appropriate, initiate negotiations
among the states concerned for the creation of any new
specialized agencies required for the accomplishment of the
purposes set forth in Article 55.
Article 60
Responsibility for the discharge of the functions of the
Organization set forth in this Chapter shall be vested in the
General Assembly and, under the authority of the General
Assembly, in the Economic and Social Council, which shall have
for this purpose the powers set forth in Chapter X.
CHAPTER X: THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
COMPOSITION
Article 61
1.The Economic and Social Council shall consist of fifty-
four Members of the United Nations elected by the General
Assembly.
2.Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3, eighteen
members of the Economic and Social Council shall be
elected each year for a term of three years. A retiring
member shall be eligible for immediate re-election.
3.At the first election after the increase in the membership of
the Economic and Social Council from twenty-seven to fifty-
four members, in addition to the members elected in place of
the nine members whose term of office expires at the end of
that year, twenty-seven additional members shall be elected.
Of these twenty-seven additional members, the term of
office of nine members so elected shall expire at the end of
one year, and of nine other members at the end of two years,
in accordance with arrangements made by the General
Assembly.
4.Each member of the Economic and Social Council shall
have one representative.
FUNCTIONS and POWERS
Article 62
1.The Economic and Social Council may make or initiate
studies and reports with respect to international economic,
social, cultural, educational, health, and related matters
and may make recommendations with respect to any such
matters to the General Assembly to the Members of the
United Nations, and to the specialized agencies concerned.
2.It may make recommendations for the purpose of
promoting respect for, and observance of, human rights
and fundamental freedoms for all.
3.It may prepare draft conventions for submission to the
General Assembly, with respect to matters falling within
its competence.
4.It may call, in accordance with the rules prescribed by
the United Nations, international conferences on matters
falling within its competence.
Article 63
1.The Economic and Social Council may enter into
agreements with any of the agencies referred to in Article
57, defining the terms on which the agency concerned
shall be brought into relationship with the United Nations.
Such agreements shall be subject to approval by the
General Assembly.
2.It may co-ordinate the activities of the specialized
agencies through consultation with and recommendations
to such agencies and through recommendations to the
General Assembly and to the Members of the United
Nations.
Article 64
1.The Economic and Social Council may take appropriate
steps to obtain regular reports from the specialized
agencies. It may make arrangements with the Members of
the United Nations and with the specialized agencies to
obtain reports on the steps taken to give effect to its own
recommendations and to recommendations on matters
falling within its competence made by the General
Assembly.
2.It may communicate its observations on these reports to
the General Assembly.
Article 65
The Economic and Social Council may furnish information to
the Security Council and shall assist the Security Council upon
its request.
Article 66
1.The Economic and Social Council shall perform such
functions as fall within its competence in connection with
the carrying out of the recommendations of the General
Assembly.
 2.It may, with the approval of the General Assembly,
perform services at the request of Members of the United
Nations and at the request of specialized agencies.
3.It shall perform such other functions as are specified
elsewhere in the present Charter or as may be assigned to it
by the General Assembly.
VOTING
Article 67
1.Each member of the Economic and Social Council shall
have one vote.
2.Decisions of the Economic and Social Council shall be
made by a majority of the members present and voting.
PROCEDURE
Article 68
The Economic and Social Council shall set up commissions in
economic and social fields and for the promotion of human rights,
and such other commissions as may be required for the
performance of its functions.
Article 69
The Economic and Social Council shall invite any Member of the
United Nations to participate, without vote, in its deliberations on
any matter of particular concern to that Member.
Article 70
The Economic and Social Council may make arrangements for
representatives of the specialized agencies to participate, without
vote, in its deliberations and in those of the commissions
established by it, and for its representatives to participate in the
deliberations of the specialized agencies.
Article 71
The Economic and Social Council may make suitable
arrangements for consultation with non-governmental
organizations which are concerned with matters within its
competence. Such arrangements may be made with international
organizations and, where appropriate, with national organizations
after consultation with the Member of the United Nations
concerned.
Article 72
1.The Economic and Social Council shall adopt its own rules
of procedure, including the method of selecting its President.
2.The Economic and Social Council shall meet as required in
accordance with its rules, which shall include provision for
the convening of meetings on the request of a majority of its
members.
CHAPTER XI: DECLARATION REGARDING NON-SELF-
GOVERNING TERRITORIES
Article 73
Members of the United Nations which have or assume
responsibilities for the administration of territories whose peoples
have not yet attained a full measure of self-government
recognize the principle that the interests of the inhabitants of
these territories are paramount, and accept as a sacred trust the
obligation to promote to the utmost, within the system of
international peace and security established by the present
Charter, the well-being of the inhabitants of these territories,
and, to this end:
a. to ensure, with due respect for the culture of the peoples
concerned, their political, economic, social, and educational
advancement, their just treatment, and their protection against
abuses;
b. to develop self-government, to take due account of the
political aspirations of the peoples, and to assist them in the
progressive development of their free political institutions,
according to the particular circumstances of each territory and
its peoples and their varying stages of advancement;
c. to further international peace and security;
d. to promote constructive measures of development, to
encourage research, and to co-operate with one another and,
when and where appropriate, with specialized international
bodies with a view to the practical achievement of the social,
economic, and scientific purposes set forth in this Article; and
e. to transmit regularly to the Secretary-General for
information purposes, subject to such limitation as security and
constitutional considerations may require, statistical and other
information of a technical nature relating to economic, social,
and educational conditions in the territories for which they are
respectively responsible other than those territories to which
Chapters XII and XIII apply.
Article 74
Members of the United Nations also agree that their policy in
respect of the territories to which this Chapter applies, no less
than in respect of their metropolitan areas, must be based on
the general principle of good-neighbourliness, due account
being taken of the interests and well-being of the rest of the
world, in social, economic, and commercial matters.
CHAPTER XII: INTERNATIONAL TRUSTEESHIP
SYSTEM
Article 75
The United Nations shall establish under its authority an
international trusteeship system for the administration and
supervision of such territories as may be placed thereunder by
subsequent individual agreements. These territories are
hereinafter referred to as trust territories.
Article 76
The basic objectives of the trusteeship system, in accordance
with the Purposes of the United Nations laid down in Article 1
of the present Charter, shall be:
a. to further international peace and security;
 b. to promote the political, economic, social, and educational
advancement of the inhabitants of the trust territories, and their
progressive development towards self-government or
independence as may be appropriate to the particular
circumstances of each territory and its peoples and the freely
expressed wishes of the peoples concerned, and as may be
provided by the terms of each trusteeship agreement;
c. to encourage respect for human rights and for fundamental
freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or
religion, and to encourage recognition of the interdependence of
the peoples of the world; and
d. to ensure equal treatment in social, economic, and
commercial matters for all Members of the United Nations and
their nationals, and also equal treatment for the latter in the
administration of justice, without prejudice to the attainment of
the foregoing objectives and subject to the provisions of Article
80.
Article 77
1 The trusteeship system shall apply to such territories in the
following categories as may be placed thereunder by means of
trusteeship agreements:
a. territories now held under mandate;
b. territories which may be detached from enemy states as a
result of the Second World War; and
c. territories voluntarily placed under the system by states
responsible for their administration.
2 It will be a matter for subsequent agreement as to which
territories in the foregoing categories will be brought under the
trusteeship system and upon what terms.
Article 78
The trusteeship system shall not apply to territories which have
become Members of the United Nations, relationship among
which shall be based on respect for the principle of sovereign
equality.
Article 79
The terms of trusteeship for each territory to be placed under the
trusteeship system, including any alteration or amendment, shall
be agreed upon by the states directly concerned, including the
mandatory power in the case of territories held under mandate by
a Member of the United Nations, and shall be approved as
provided for in Articles 83 and 85.
Article 80
1.Except as may be agreed upon in individual trusteeship
agreements, made under Articles 77, 79, and 81, placing
each territory under the trusteeship system, and until such
agreements have been concluded, nothing in this Chapter
shall be construed in or of itself to alter in any manner the
rights whatsoever of any states or any peoples or the terms
of existing international instruments to which Members of
the United Nations may respectively be parties.
2.Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be interpreted as
giving grounds for delay or postponement of the
negotiation and conclusion of agreements for placing
mandated and other territories under the trusteeship
system as provided for in Article 77.
Article 81
The trusteeship agreement shall in each case include the terms
under which the trust territory will be administered and
designate the authority which will exercise the administration
of the trust territory. Such authority, hereinafter called the
administering authority, may be one or more states or the
Organization itself.
Article 82
There may be designated, in any trusteeship agreement, a
strategic area or areas which may include part or all of the trust
territory to which the agreement applies, without prejudice to
any special agreement or agreements made under Article 43.
Article 83
1.All functions of the United Nations relating to strategic
areas, including the approval of the terms of the
trusteeship agreements and of their alteration or
amendment shall be exercised by the Security Council.
2.The basic objectives set forth in Article 76 shall be
applicable to the people of each strategic area.
3.The Security Council shall, subject to the provisions of
the trusteeship agreements and without prejudice to
security considerations, avail itself of the assistance of the
Trusteeship Council to perform those functions of the
United Nations under the trusteeship system relating to
political, economic, social, and educational matters in the
strategic areas.
Article 84
It shall be the duty of the administering authority to ensure that
the trust territory shall play its part in the maintenance of
international peace and security. To this end the administering
authority may make use of volunteer forces, facilities, and
assistance from the trust territory in carrying out the
obligations towards the Security Council undertaken in this
regard by the administering authority, as well as for local
defence and the maintenance of law and order within the trust
territory.
Article 85
1.The functions of the United Nations with regard to
trusteeship agreements for all areas not designated as
strategic, including the approval of the terms of the
trusteeship agreements and of their alteration or
amendment, shall be exercised by the General Assembly.
2.The Trusteeship Council, operating under the authority
of the General Assembly shall assist the General
Assembly in carrying out these functions.
CHAPTER XIII: THE TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL
COMPOSITION
Article 86
1 The Trusteeship Council shall consist of the following
Members of the United Nations:
a. those Members administering trust territories;
b. such of those Members mentioned by name in Article 23
as are not administering trust territories; and
c. as many other Members elected for three-year terms by
the General Assembly as may be necessary to ensure that the total
number of members of the Trusteeship Council is equally divided
between those Members of the United Nations which administer
trust territories and those which do not.
2 Each member of the Trusteeship Council shall designate one
specially qualified person to represent it therein.
FUNCTIONS and POWERS
Article 87
The General Assembly and, under its authority, the Trusteeship
Council, in carrying out their functions, may:
a. consider reports submitted by the administering authority;
b. accept petitions and examine them in consultation with
the administering authority;
c. provide for periodic visits to the respective trust
territories at times agreed upon with the administering authority;
and
d. take these and other actions in conformity with the terms
of the trusteeship agreements.
Article 88
The Trusteeship Council shall formulate a questionnaire on the
political, economic, social, and educational advancement of the
inhabitants of each trust territory, and the administering authority
for each trust territory within the competence of the General
Assembly shall make an annual report to the General Assembly
upon the basis of such questionnaire.
VOTING
Article 89
1.Each member of the Trusteeship Council shall have one
vote.
2.Decisions of the Trusteeship Council shall be made by a
majority of the members present and voting.
PROCEDURE
Article 90
1.The Trusteeship Council shall adopt its own rules of
procedure, including the method of selecting its President.
2.The Trusteeship Council shall meet as required in
accordance with its rules, which shall include provision
for the convening of meetings on the request of a majority
of its members.
Article 91
The Trusteeship Council shall, when appropriate, avail itself of
the assistance of the Economic and Social Council and of the
specialized agencies in regard to matters with which they are
respectively concerned.
CHAPTER XIV: THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF
JUSTICE
Article 92
The International Court of Justice shall be the principal judicial
organ of the United Nations. It shall function in accordance
with the annexed Statute, which is based upon the Statute of
the Permanent Court of International Justice and forms an
integral part of the present Charter.
Article 93
1.All Members of the United Nations are ipso facto
parties to the Statute of the International Court of Justice.
2.A state which is not a Member of the United Nations
may become a party to the Statute of the International
Court of Justice on conditions to be determined in each
case by the General Assembly upon the recommendation
of the Security Council.
Article 94
1.Each Member of the United Nations undertakes to
comply with the decision of the International Court of
Justice in any case to which it is a party.
2.If any party to a case fails to perform the obligations
incumbent upon it under a judgment rendered by the
Court, the other party may have recourse to the Security
Council, which may, if it deems necessary, make
recommendations or decide upon measures to be taken to
give effect to the judgment.
Article 95
Nothing in the present Charter shall prevent Members of the
United Nations from entrusting the solution of their differences
to other tribunals by virtue of agreements already in existence
or which may be concluded in the future.
Article 96
a. The General Assembly or the Security Council may
request the International Court of Justice to give an advisory
opinion on any legal question.
b. Other organs of the United Nations and specialized
agencies, which may at any time be so authorized by the General
Assembly, may also request advisory opinions of the Court on
legal questions arising within the scope of their activities.
CHAPTER XV: THE SECRETARIAT
Article 97
The Secretariat shall comprise a Secretary-General and such staff
as the Organization may require. The Secretary-General shall be
appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of
the Security Council. He shall be the chief administrative officer
of the Organization.
Article 98
The Secretary-General shall act in that capacity in all meetings of
the General Assembly, of the Security Council, of the Economic
and Social Council, and of the Trusteeship Council, and shall
perform such other functions as are entrusted to him by these
organs. The Secretary-General shall make an annual report to the
General Assembly on the work of the Organization.
Article 99
The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security
Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the
maintenance of international peace and security.
Article 100
1.In the performance of their duties the Secretary-General
and the staff shall not seek or receive instructions from any
government or from any other authority external to the
Organization. They shall refrain from any action which
might reflect on their position as international officials
responsible only to the Organization.
2.Each Member of the United Nations undertakes to respect
the exclusively international character of the responsibilities
of the Secretary-General and the staff and not to seek to
influence them in the discharge of their responsibilities.
Article 101
1.The staff shall be appointed by the Secretary-General
under regulations established by the General Assembly.
2.Appropriate staffs shall be permanently assigned to the
Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, and,
as required, to other organs of the United Nations. These
staffs shall form a part of the Secretariat.
3.The paramount consideration in the employment of the
staff and in the determination of the conditions of service
shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of
efficiency, competence, and integrity. Due regard shall be
paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a
geographical basis as possible.
CHAPTER XVI: MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Article 102
1.Every treaty and every international agreement entered
into by any Member of the United Nations after the
present Charter comes into force shall as soon as possible
be registered with the Secretariat and published by it.
2.No party to any such treaty or international agreement
which has not been registered in accordance with the
provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article may invoke that
treaty or agreement before any organ of the United
Nations.
Article 103
In the event of a conflict between the obligations of the
Members of the United Nations under the present Charter and
their obligations under any other international agreement, their
obligations under the present Charter shall prevail.
Article 104
The Organization shall enjoy in the territory of each of its
Members such legal capacity as may be necessary for the
exercise of its functions and the fulfilment of its purposes.
Article 105
1.The Organization shall enjoy in the territory of each of
its Members such privileges and immunities as are
necessary for the fulfilment of its purposes.
2.Representatives of the Members of the United Nations
and officials of the Organization shall similarly enjoy
such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the
independent exercise of their functions in connexion with
the Organization.
3.The General Assembly may make recommendations
with a view to determining the details of the application
of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article or may propose
conventions to the Members of the United Nations for
this purpose.
CHAPTER XVII: TRANSITIONAL SECURITY
ARRANGEMENTS
Article 106
Pending the coming into force of such special agreements
referred to in Article 43 as in the opinion of the Security
Council enable it to begin the exercise of its responsibilities
under Article 42, the parties to the Four-Nation Declaration,
signed at Moscow, 30 October 1943, and France, shall, in
accordance with the provisions of paragraph 5 of that
Declaration, consult with one another and as occasion requires
with other Members of the United Nations with a view to such
joint action on behalf of the Organization as may be necessary
for the purpose of maintaining international peace and security.
Article 107
Nothing in the present Charter shall invalidate or preclude
action, in relation to any state which during the Second World
War has been an enemy of any signatory to the present Charter, 4.The states signatory to the present Charter which ratify
taken or authorized as a result of that war by the Governments it after it has come into force will become original
having responsibility for such action. Members of the United Nations on the date of the deposit
of their respective ratifications.

CHAPTER XVIII: AMENDMENTS Article 111

Article 108
Amendments to the present Charter shall come into force for all
Members of the United Nations when they have been adopted by
a vote of two thirds of the members of the General Assembly and
ratified in accordance with their respective constitutional
processes by two thirds of the Members of the United Nations,
including all the permanent members of the Security Council.
Article 109
1.A General Conference of the Members of the United
Nations for the purpose of reviewing the present Charter
may be held at a date and place to be fixed by a two-thirds
vote of the members of the General Assembly and by a vote
of any nine members of the Security Council. Each Member
of the United Nations shall have one vote in the conference.
The present Charter, of which the Chinese, French, Russian,
English, and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall remain
deposited in the archives of the Government of the United
States of America. Duly certified copies thereof shall be
transmitted by that Government to the Governments of the
other signatory states.
IN FAITH WHEREOF the representatives of the Governments
of the United Nations have signed the present Charter. DONE
at the city of San Francisco the twenty-sixth day of June, one
thousand nine hundred and forty-five.

2.Any alteration of the present Charter recommended by a

two-thirds vote of the conference shall take effect when
ratified in accordance with their respective constitutional
processes by two thirds of the Members of the United
Nations including all the permanent members of the Security
Council.

3.If such a conference has not been held before the tenth
annual session of the General Assembly following the
coming into force of the present Charter, the proposal to call
such a conference shall be placed on the agenda of that
session of the General Assembly, and the conference shall be
held if so decided by a majority vote of the members of the
General Assembly and by a vote of any seven members of
the Security Council.

CHAPTER XIX: RATIFICATION AND SIGNATURE

Article 110
1.The present Charter shall be ratified by the signatory states
in accordance with their respective constitutional processes.

2.The ratifications shall be deposited with the Government

of the United States of America, which shall notify all the
signatory states of each deposit as well as the Secretary-
General of the Organization when he has been appointed.

3.The present Charter shall come into force upon the deposit
of ratifications by the Republic of China, France, the Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of
America, and by a majority of the other signatory states. A
protocol of the ratifications deposited shall thereupon be
drawn up by the Government of the United States of
America which shall communicate copies thereof to all the
signatory states.