Treaty interpretation refers to explaining and clarifying the true meaning of treaty terms and regulations. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties stipulates the main methods and rules to be followed in treaty interpretation.

(1) General rules of treaty interpretation

1. According to the usual meaning and context. The interpretation of a treaty should be based on the ordinary meaning of terms in their context. The terms of the treaty shall be given their ordinary meanings. Sometimes a word may have several meanings, so it cannot be interpreted in isolation. The actual meaning of the word in the treaty must be interpreted in the context of the treaty. In addition to the text, the background of the treaty also includes any agreement related to the conclusion of the treaty between all parties to the treaty, or any instrument related to the treaty concluded or formulated by a single party and accepted by other parties. The factors considered together with the background of the treaty are any provisions on the interpretation of the treaty or the application of its provisions subsequently concluded between the parties to the treaty; Any subsequent practice in the application of a treaty that confirms that the parties to the treaty have reached an agreement on the interpretation of the treaty; Any relevant rules of international law applicable to the relations between the parties to the treaty.

2. Conforming to the object and purpose of the treaty. A treaty is concluded for a certain purpose, and its object and purpose run through the whole treaty. When interpreting a treaty, we should choose the meaning that best conforms to its object and purpose, not the other way around.

3. Explain in good faith. This means that the interpretation of a treaty should be based on honest and faithful implementation of the treaty, and the interpretation should not make one party unfairly or unjustly superior to the other, nor should it try to obstruct or undermine the implementation of the treaty. The principle of good faith comes directly from the principle of "pacta sunt servanda" and plays an important role in treaty interpretation.

(2) Supplementary rules of treaty interpretation

1. Additional information on treaty interpretation. If the meaning of the treaty is still unclear or difficult to interpret according to the above rules, or the results obtained are obviously absurd or unreasonable, supplementary materials for interpreting the treaty can be used, including the preparation and conclusion of the treaty, such as negotiation records, previous drafts, discussion minutes, etc. However, these materials are only used as an aid and supplement to the above explanation methods, and they are not decisive in themselves.

2. Interpret the treaty in more than two languages. (1) For a treaty made of two or more languages, the texts of each language are equally authentic, unless there are provisions in the treaty or the parties agree that in case of differences in meaning, one text shall prevail. (2) The translations of treaties other than authentic texts cannot be regarded as authentic texts, but can only be used as references in the interpretation of treaties. (3) In the authentic texts of various languages, the terms of a treaty shall be presumed to have the same meaning. (4) In addition to stipulating that a certain treaty shall prevail, if differences in meaning are found in several authentic treaties, and these differences cannot be eliminated by applying the above-mentioned interpretation rules, the meaning of the treaty that best harmonizes shall be adopted, taking into account the object and purpose of the treaty.

Two. Revision of the treaty

The modification of a treaty refers to the behavior of the contracting parties to change the provisions of the treaty within the validity period of the treaty after its conclusion. Because the procedure of amending bilateral treaties is the same as that of concluding treaties, the amendment of treaties mainly involves multilateral treaties. The revision of multilateral treaties can be divided into two types: amendment and amendment. The former refers to the revision of multilateral treaties among all parties; The latter refers to the revision of multilateral treaties between some parties. However, in practice, there is no strict difference between online languages, and they are often mixed.

(1) Amendment of multilateral treaties

According to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, amendments to treaties should be made in accordance with the procedures stipulated in each treaty. As a general rule, proposals to amend multilateral treaties must be notified to all States parties. The state party is different from the state party. A contracting state refers to a country that has agreed to be bound by a treaty and the treaty has entered into force for it. A contracting state means a country that has consented to be bound by a treaty, whether or not the treaty is in force for it. Each state party has the right to participate in deciding what action to take on the proposal and in negotiating and concluding any agreement to amend the treaty.

After the amendment of the Treaty, all countries entitled to become parties to the Treaty should also be entitled to become parties to the amended Treaty. An agreement amending a treaty is not binding on the parties to the treaty but not on the parties to the agreement. A country that becomes a party to the treaty after the entry into force of the agreement amending the treaty shall be regarded as a party to the amended treaty if there is no indication to the contrary; Between countries and countries that are not bound by the amended treaty agreement, the unamended treaty should be applied.

(2) Revision of multilateral treaties

The modification of the treaty is carried out between some parties, and the treaty can only be modified if the treaty itself allows modification. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties stipulates that the modification of multilateral treaties is allowed under the following circumstances:

1. The treaty provides that such amendments can be made.

2. The relevant amendments are not prohibited by the treaty, and will not affect other parties' enjoyment of the rights or performance of the obligations stipulated in the treaty, nor do they involve provisions that are essential for the effective implementation of the objectives and purposes of the whole treaty, that is, if they deviate from these provisions, they will be inconsistent with the effective implementation of the objectives and purposes of the whole treaty.

Three. Termination and suspension of treaties

The termination of a treaty refers to the emergence of an effective treaty for reasons stipulated in the treaty law, which is no longer binding on the parties. The termination of a treaty means that the rights and obligations stipulated in an effective treaty are temporarily not binding on the contracting parties for a certain period of time due to the emergence of legal reasons.

(a) Reasons for termination and suspension of treaties

1. The treaty itself stipulates. In practice, the termination of the treaty caused by the adoption of the provisions of the treaty itself mainly includes:

The time limit stipulated in the treaty expires without extension; Other conditions stipulated in the treaty for the dissolution of the treaty are established, such as the occurrence of specific events.

2. The consent of the parties to the treaty. After the conclusion of a treaty, it may be terminated or suspended with the express or implied consent of the parties. A treaty may be terminated or suspended with the consent of all parties after consultation between one party and other parties.

3. Unilateral termination and withdrawal. The treaty was concluded by unanimous agreement of all the contracting parties, and all the contracting parties are obliged to faithfully perform the treaty within the validity period of the treaty. Unless the treaty explicitly allows one party to withdraw or cancel the contract, it is generally not allowed to unilaterally terminate or withdraw from the treaty without the consent of other contracting parties. According to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the parties to a treaty can unilaterally abrogate or withdraw from a treaty only after it is determined that the intention of the parties is to allow the possibility of abrogation or withdrawal, or that the nature of the treaty can be considered to include the right to abrogate or withdraw. In this case, the parties concerned must inform them of their intention to stop or withdraw from the treaty 12 months in advance.

4. The treaty has been fulfilled. When the matters stipulated in the treaty are fulfilled, the treaty will be terminated. The most common situation is that the treaty is terminated because the parties have fully fulfilled their rights and obligations under the treaty.

5. The treaty was terminated by substitution. If all parties to a treaty conclude a later treaty on the same matter, if the later treaty shall prevail, or if the contents of two successive treaties are inconsistent, so that the two treaties cannot be applied at the same time, the earlier treaty shall be terminated.

6. Treaty implementation is impossible. After the conclusion of a treaty, if the subject matter necessary for the performance of the treaty disappears or is permanently destroyed, so that the treaty cannot be performed, the parties concerned may terminate or withdraw from the treaty on this ground. If the non-performance is temporary, the parties concerned can only suspend the implementation of the treaty. Moreover, if this performance cannot be caused by the violation of international law by the country concerned, the country concerned must bear the corresponding international responsibility.

7. The parties to the treaty have lost their international personality. When a country is split into several countries or merged into other countries and loses its international personality, the bilateral treaty it has concluded will be terminated unless a new country inherits its rights and obligations to the treaty.

8. Sever diplomatic or consular relations. The severance of diplomatic relations or consular relations leads to the termination of the treaty, and this relationship is an indispensable condition for the application of the treaty. Other treaties shall not be affected by the severance of diplomatic relations or consular relations.

9. The occurrence of war terminated political treaties and bilateral commercial treaties between warring countries. Other bilateral treaties were suspended. However, bilateral or multilateral treaties on the law of war may not be terminated.

10. One party breaches the contract. When one party breaches a treaty, the other party may terminate the treaty or suspend its implementation. This is a confrontation against the other party's illegal behavior, but it must conform to the principles of necessity and proportionality. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties stipulates that one party has the right to terminate or suspend the operation of a treaty for breach of contract, but the breach of contract by one party must be a major breach, including: (1) illegal unilateral termination of the treaty by one party; (2) violation of the provisions of the treaty, which is necessary to realize the object and purpose of the treaty. A slight breach of the contract by one party cannot cause the other party to cancel the contract.

When one party to a bilateral treaty violates a major contract, the other party has the right to terminate the treaty or suspend the implementation of the treaty in whole or in part; When one party to a multilateral treaty seriously breaches the contract, the other parties have the right to agree to suspend or terminate the treaty in whole or in part in their relations with the breaching party or among all parties to the treaty.

1 1. Things have changed. A change of circumstances refers to a fundamental change that cannot be foreseen at the time of the conclusion of the treaty, and the parties can terminate or withdraw from the treaty. "Circumstances change" is a special exception to "pacta sunt servanda". In order to prevent the abuse of rebus sic stantibus principle and maintain stable treaty relations, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties sets strict conditions for the application of rebus sic stantibus principle: (1) The situation at the time of contracting must undergo unpredictable and fundamental changes; (2) The circumstances at the time of contracting constitute the necessary basis for the parties to agree to be bound by the treaty; (3) The influence of changing circumstances will fundamentally change the scope of obligations stipulated in the treaty; (4) The principle of rebus sic stantibus does not apply to treaties that determine boundaries; (5) If the change of circumstances is caused by the violation of treaty obligations or other international obligations by a contracting state, that country cannot invoke the change of circumstances to terminate or abrogate the relevant treaty.

(two) the procedures and consequences of termination and suspension of the performance of the treaty

1. Procedures for terminating and suspending the operation of the treaty. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties stipulates that when one of the parties to a treaty terminates, withdraws from or suspends the operation of the treaty, it must notify the other parties to the treaty in writing of its claim, and the notice shall state the measures to be taken against the treaty and the reasons. If the other parties do not raise any objection after three months after receiving the notification, the notifying party can implement the measures it intends to take. If other parties raise objections, the parties to the treaty shall resolve these objections through peaceful settlement of disputes. If the dispute cannot be settled by the above methods within 65,438+02 months after the date of the objection, either party may submit it to the International Court of Justice for settlement, or both parties may submit it to arbitration, or request the Secretary-General of the United Nations to initiate compulsory settlement procedures. However, some countries, including China, have reservations about this provision of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, especially the provision on dispute settlement.

2. Consequences of termination and suspension of the operation of treaties. If a treaty contains provisions on the consequences of termination, the provisions of the treaty itself shall prevail. In the absence of provisions in the treaty and the parties to the treaty have not agreed on the consequences of the termination or suspension of the implementation of the treaty, the following rules are generally followed: (1) release the parties from their obligations to continue to perform the treaty; (2) It does not affect any rights, obligations or legal situation of the contracting parties arising from the implementation of the treaty before its termination; (3) During the suspension period, the States parties concerned should avoid acts that are sufficient to hinder the resumption of the implementation of the treaty.

The main legal provisions of this chapter

1. Procedural Law of Concluding Treaties

2. Provisions, relevant provisions and judicial interpretations of treaties in China's constitution, criminal law, civil law, procedural law and other laws.