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Article 8

Subsequent confirmation of an act performed without authorization

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Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

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Abstract

Art 8 deals with the legal consequences of an act performed by an unauthorized person related to the conclusion of a treaty and the options for the State concerned. It thereby complements the previous article on full powers and aims to bring about legal security in such situations.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Sinclair (1984), p. 31.

  2. 2.

    Blix (1960), p. 12.

  3. 3.

    Final Draft, Commentary to Art 7, 211, para 2.

  4. 4.

    Waldock II 46.

  5. 5.

    [1963-II] YbILC 189–217.

  6. 6.

    Final Draft, Draft Art 7, 193.

  7. 7.

    UNCLOT I 79, para 34.

  8. 8.

    Angelet and Leidgens (2011), Art 8 MN 5-6; Villiger (2009), Art 8 MN 9.

  9. 9.

    Elias (1974), p. 21.

  10. 10.

    Final Draft, Commentary to Art 8, 194, para 2. For more background on this incident, see Blix (1960), pp. 76–77.

  11. 11.

    ICJ Genocide Case (Preliminary Objections) (dissenting opinion Kreća) [1996] ICJ Rep 658, paras 38–39.

  12. 12.

    ICJ Genocide Case (Preliminary Objections) [1996] ICJ Rep 595, para 44.

  13. 13.

    Angelet and Leidgens (2011), Art 8 MN 6.

  14. 14.

    Final Draft, Commentary to Art 8, 194, para 1.

  15. 15.

    Peters (2009), MN 110.

  16. 16.

    Final Draft, Commentary to Art 8, 194, para 3.

  17. 17.

    Angelet and Leidgens (2011), Art 8 MN 10.

  18. 18.

    For a different view, see Angelet and Leidgens (2011), Art 8 MN 5, 12, who argue that Art 8 only allows for retroactive confirmation, whereas a confirmation ex nunc would have to be based on customary law.

  19. 19.

    Final Draft, Commentary to Art 8, 194, para 3.

  20. 20.

    The treaty is reproduced in (1941) 35 AJIL Supp 129 and (1942) 11 ZaöRV 107–112.

  21. 21.

    For more details, see Briggs (1941), p. 508.

  22. 22.

    Blix (1960), p. 60.

  23. 23.

    Aust (2013), p. 78; Blix (1960), p. 9.

  24. 24.

    Blix (1960), p. 9.

  25. 25.

    Elias (2012), p. 83 refers to the ‘rare circumstances’ in which the problem of exceeding full powers by a representative of an international organization presents itself in practice, but does not provide any example.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Head of Unit of the Directorate for Trade Defence, European Commission; Professor of Law, Institute for European Studies, Free University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium

    Frank Hoffmeister

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  1. Frank Hoffmeister
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. European Legal Studies Institute, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany

    Oliver Dörr

  2. Faculty of Law, Department of Public Law/International Law, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

    Kirsten Schmalenbach

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Hoffmeister, F. (2018). Article 8. In: Dörr, O., Schmalenbach, K. (eds) Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-55160-8_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-55160-8_10

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