The VCLT and the Creation and Application of Treaties: Introductory Reflections

This chapter provides introductory reflections for Part II of this book, which focuses on the role of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties’ (VCLT’s) disciplines for the creation and application of treaties. This part begins by considering the entry into force of treaties. Next, turning to the application of treaties, this part presents rules from the VCLT that might aid the application of treaties in circumstances where there exist contested questions of State succession or territorial application. Finally, this part examines the challenges that arise from determining the temporal scope and applicability of treaties. Although these topics have been less frequently explored in scholarship and practice, they are highly topical and relevant for investor-State disputes and investment law generally relating as they do to practical challenges for which the VCLT presents useful guidance.