Section 110p. 110

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW COMPENDIUM VOLUME I

(b) if the fundamental change is the result of a breach by

the party invoking it either of an obligation under the

treaty or of any other international obligation owed to any

other party to the treaty.

3. If, under the foregoing paragraphs, a party may invoke

a fundamental change of circumstances as a ground for

terminating or withdrawing from a treaty it may also

invoke the change as a ground for suspending the

operation of the treaty.

ARTICLE 63

Severance of Diplomatic or Consular Relations

The

severance

of

diplomatic

or

consular

relations

between parties to a treaty does not affect the legal

relations established between them by the treaty except

insofar as the existence of diplomatic or consular relations

is indispensable for the application of the treaty.

ARTICLE 64

Emergence of a New Peremptory Norm of General

International Law ("Jus Cogens")

If a new peremptory norm of general international law

emerges, any existing treaty which is in conflict with that

norm becomes void and terminates.

SECTION 4 Procedure

ARTICLE 65

Procedure to be Followed with Respect to Invalidity,

Termination, Withdrawal From or Suspension of the

Operation of a Treaty

1. A party which, under the provisions of the present

Convention, invokes either a defect in its consent to be

bound by a treaty or a ground for impeaching the validity

of

a

treaty,

terminating

it,

withdrawing

from

it

or

suspending its operation, must notify the other parties of

its claim. The notification shall indicate the measure

proposed to be taken with respect to the treaty and the

reasons therefor.

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 article 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 Annex 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 of 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 article 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 article 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

© Compiled by RGL

110 of 192