Treaty Powers of Federated States and International Law

Abstract

Claims of the existence of an internationally recognized jus tractatus for federated states are often welcomed in the United States and (English-) Canada with profound scepticism. At best, interlocutors appear ready to recognize the capacity of federated states to make non-legally binding political commitments or contracts. Capacity for federated states to conclude international treaties appears like an outlandish extravagance! This is why we will first examine what international law has to say about federated states’ jus tractatus (I). In order to explicit such rules, we will present how different Federations (or quasi-federations) deal with the issue. After having discussed the legal issues raised by the jus tractactus of federated states, we will examine in the second part of this article the policy considerations that justify such positions (II).

Cyr, H. (2017). « Treaty Powers of Federated States and International Law », Jus Politicum, no 17, p. 65-96.