What You Need To Know: Elements of International Agreements 

Uzone.id – The realization or realization of international relations in the form of international agreements has long been carried out by countries in the world. These agreements are laws that should be respected and obeyed by the parties concerned.

So it is not an exaggeration that as long as relations between countries in the world are still carried out, international agreements will continue to exist.

The role of international law in general and international treaty law in particular in regulating international relations is increasingly becoming increasingly important.

This is evident from the emergence of efforts by official international bodies to codify the rules of international law through international conferences that produce international agreements.

This material will discuss the elements contained in an international agreement. What agrees on an international treaty?

International Agreement

In a general and broad sense, international agreements are:

An agreement between two or more subjects of international law regarding a particular object or problem to establish legal relations or give birth to rights and obligations regulated by international law.

In this case, the 1986 Vienna Convention provides an explicit definition of agreement in Article 2 Paragraph 1 point a, which reads as follows:

A treaty is an international agreement regulated by international law and formulated in written form:

1. between one or more countries and one or more international organizations; or
2. Fellow international organizations, whether the agreement is in the form of one or more interrelated instruments and regardless of anything else.

Both types of understanding of international agreements contain the same elements or qualifications.

So based on this understanding, several elements or qualifications that must be fulfilled by an international agreement can be outlined, namely:

1. Agreement;
2. Legal subjects;
3. Written form;
4. Specific object;
5. Subject to or regulated by international law.

Word of Agreement

An agreement is a very essential element of an agreement, including international agreements. The word of agreement is the essence of the agreement, without an agreement between the parties there will be no agreement. 

This agreement is formulated or stated in the agreement text, the articles of the agreement text will reflect the agreements between the parties.

Legal Subjects

Legal subjects in this case are subjects of international law that are bound by an agreement. In agreements that are closed or technical, usually, the negotiating countries or negotiating states are the parties bound by the agreement.

On the other hand, in the negotiation of a more general agreement, the negotiating countries will not necessarily be parties to the agreement.

So, the countries that are actively involved in negotiating the agreement will not necessarily be parties to the negotiated agreement.

This can happen due to geopolitical factors and/or the country stating that it refuses to be bound by international agreements.

While there is a possibility of countries that do not follow the negotiation process 

agreement will be a party bound to the relevant international agreement. The above is commonplace in open multilateral international agreements of a general nature.

Subjects of international law who can make and be bound as parties to international agreements include countries (including states, as long as they are by the constitution of a federal state); holy throne; international organizations; believers; and a nation that is fighting for its rights.

Written Form

This written form is an embodiment of an authentic and binding agreement between the parties. The agreement is formulated in language and writing that is understood and agreed upon by the parties concerned. Usually, the language used is English as the international language of communication.

There are also international agreements formulated in two or more languages.

Meanwhile, the writing or letters used are Latin letters, although there is no prohibition on using other letters.

For example, in international agreements made by Middle Eastern countries, it is possible to use Arabic letters because of the similarity of languages.

With its written form, it is guaranteed that there will be firmness, clarity, and legal certainty for the parties and also for third parties who may have an interest at any time.

Specific Objects

The object of an international agreement is the object or thing regulated in it. Every agreement must contain certain objects.

The object itself usually directly becomes the name of the agreement. For example, an international agreement on the law of the sea means that the object of the agreement is about the relations between countries at sea.

Another example is an agreement on territorial boundaries, which means the object is the territorial boundaries of the parties, as well as agreements on legal cooperation, economic and trade cooperation, and scientific and technological cooperation.

Regarding the substance regulated in international agreements, it is not only problems and objects that exist on earth. The scope of these problems and objects has expanded to objects outside planet Earth, such as the moon and other celestial bodies.

Subject to or Governed by International Law

What is meant by international law in this case is both international law in general and international treaty law in particular. As is generally known, every agreement creates a legal relationship in the form of rights and obligations for the parties.

Likewise, from the time of negotiations to formulate the text of the agreement, its enactment, implementation with all problems that arise, and the termination of the agreement’s validity, all are subject to international law.

This shows or characterizes that the agreement has an international nature and therefore falls within the scope of international law.

By fulfilling all the elements of an international agreement as stated above, an explicit distinction can be made between international agreements which are subject to international law, and contracts which are subject to civil law.

Today international law mostly consists of international agreements.

The greater and increasing dependence between human beings in this world has encouraged international cooperation, which in many cases is formulated in the form of international agreements.

G. I. Tunkin argued that proportionally international agreements currently occupy a major place in international law as a result of the widespread emergence of international negotiations.

Differences in philosophy and outlook on life, culture, race, religion, or belief are no longer a barrier factor in establishing relationships and cooperation.

Progress in the fields of science and technology, with all its positive and negative impacts, encourages the need for more firm and definite regulations.