Message to the Senate Transmitting the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

To the Senate of the United States:

I am transmitting herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties signed for the United States on April 24, 1970. The Convention is the outcome of many years of careful preparatory work by the International Law Commission, followed by a two-session conference of 110 nations convened under United Nations auspices in 1968 and 1969. The conference was the sixth in a series called by the General Assembly of the United Nations for the purpose of encouraging the progressive development and codification of international law.

The growing importance of treaties in the orderly conduct of international relations has made increasingly evident the need for clear, well-defined, and readily ascertainable rules of international law applicable to treaties. I believe that the codification of treaty law formulated by representatives of the international community and embodied in the Vienna Convention meets this need.

The international community as a whole will surely benefit from the adoption of uniform rules on such subjects as the conclusion and entry into force of treaties, their interpretation and application, and other technical matters. Even more significant, however, are the orderly procedures of the Convention for dealing with needed adjustments and changes in treaties, along with its strong reaffirmation of the basic principle pacta sunt servanda--the rule that treaties are binding on the parties and must be performed in good faith. The provisions on judicial settlement, arbitration and conciliation, including the possibility that a dispute concerning a peremptory norm of international law can be referred to the International Court of Justice, should do much to enhance the stability of treaty relationships throughout the world.

I am enclosing the report of the Secretary of State, describing the provisions of the Convention in detail.

The Vienna Convention can be an important tool in the development of international law. I am pleased to note that it has been endorsed by the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association and I urge the Senate to give its advice and consent to ratification.

RICHARD NIXON

The White House

November 22, 1971