Note by the Secretariat

Pages5-6
5
Note by the Secretariat
1. Under Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations every treaty
and every international agreement entered into by a Member of the
United Nations after the coming into force of the Charter must be regis-
tered with the Secretariat and published by it. The General Assembly,
by Resolution 97 (I) of 14 December 1946, adopted Regulations to
give effect to Article 102 of the Charter. These Regulations were last
amended on 19 December 1978 (“the Regulations”).
2. Under article 1 of the Regulations, parties are required to effect
the registration of every treaty or international agreement subject to
registration concluded by them. Under article 4 of the Regulations, the
United Nations is required to register ex officio every treaty or interna-
tional agreement which is subject to registration where the
United Nations (i) is a party to the treaty or agreement, (ii) has been
authorized by a treaty or agreement to effect registration, or (iii) is the
depositary of a multilateral treaty or agreement. The specialized agen-
cies may also register treaties in certain specific cases. The Regula-
tions also provide in article 10 for the filing and recording of certain
categories of treaties and international agreements other than those
subject to registration under Article 102 of the Charter. The Secretariat
is designated in Article 102 as the organ with which registration or filing
and recording is effected.
3. The present Statement is issued monthly by the Office of Legal
Affairs of the Secretariat pursuant to article 13 of the Regulations.
4. Part I contains a statement of treaties and international agree-
ments registered in accordance with article 1 of the Regulations. Part II
contains a statement of treaties and international agreements filed and
recorded in accordance with article 10 of the Regulations. With regard
to each treaty or international agreement registered or filed and
recorded, the following information is provided: registration or record-
ing number, title, date of conclusion, date and method of entry into
force, languages in which it was concluded, name of the authority
which initiated the formality of registration or filing and recording and
date of that formality. Annexes to the Statement contain subsequent
actions concerning treaties and international agreements registered or
filed and recorded with the Secretariat of the United Nations or regis-
tered with the Secretariat of the League of Nations. These actions can
be in the form of supplementary agreements, agreements which
amend or modify previously registered agreements, or certified state-
ments. Certified statements are composed of data only, such as ratifi-
cations, accessions, etc.
5. Under Article 102 of the Charter and the Regulations, the Secre-
tariat is responsible for the registration and publication of treaties. In
respect of ex officio registration and filing and recording, where the
Secretariat has responsibility for initiating action under the Regula-
tions, it has authority for dealing with all aspects of the responsibility.
6. In other cases, when treaties and international agreements are
submitted by a party for the purpose of registration or filing and record-
ing, they are first examined by the Secretariat in order to ascertain
(i) whether they fall within the category of agreements requir ing
registration or are subject to filing and recording, and (ii) whether the
technical requirements of the Regulations are met. It is noted that an
authoritative body of practice relating to registration has been devel-
oped in the League of Nations and the United Nations. In some cases,
the Secretariat may find it necessary to consult with the registering
party concerning the question of registrability. However, since the
terms "treaty" and "international agreement" have not been defined in
the Charter or in the Regulations, the Secretariat follows the principle
of respecting the position of the Member State submitting an instru-
ment for registration that in so far as that party is concerned the instru-
ment is a treaty or an international agreement within the meaning of
Article 102. Therefore registration of an instrument submitted by a
Member State does not imply a judgement by the Secretariat on the
nature of the instrument, the status of a party, or any similar question. It
is the understanding of the Secretariat that its action does not confer
on the instrument the status of a treaty or an international agreement if
it does not already have that status and does not confer on a party a
status which it would not otherwise have.
7. The obligation to register rests on the Member State and the pur-
pose of Article 102 of the Charter is to give publicity to all treaties and
international agreements subject to registration. Under paragraph 2 of
Article 102, no party to a treaty or international agreement subject to
registration, which has not been registered, may invoke that treaty or
agreement before any organ of the United Nations.
Publication of treaties and international agreements
8. Pursuant to article 12 of the Regulations, treaties and interna-
tional agreements registered or filed and recorded are published in the
United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS) in their original language or lan-
guages, together with a translation in English and French, as neces-
sary. By its resolution 33/141 A of 19 December 1978, the General
Assembly gave the Secretariat the option not to publish in extenso cer-
tain categories of bilateral treaties or international agreements belong-
ing to one of the following categories:
(a) Assistance and co-operation agreements of limited scope
concerning financial, commercial, administrative or technical
matters;
(b) Agreements relating to the organization of conferences,
seminars or meetings;
(c) Agreements that are to be published otherwise than in the
UNTS by the United Nations Secretariat or by a specialized
or related agency.
9. By its resolution A/RES/52/153 of 15 December 1997, the Gen-
eral Assembly extended this option to multilateral treaties falling within
the terms of article 12 (2) (a) to (c).
10.In accordance with article 12 (3) of the Regulations, those trea-
ties and international agreements that the Secretariat intends not to
publish in extenso are identified in the Statement by an asterisk pre-
ceding the title.
UNTS volumes published since 1946 are available on the United
Nations Web site at: http://www.un.org/Depts/Treaty.

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT