Germany’s position and practice on provisional application of treaties
Published: 25 February 2021 Authors: Stefan Talmon and Anneliese Quast Mertsch
The provisional application of treaties is a long-established legal mechanism that is often used by States and international organizations to give immediate effect to all or some of the provisions of a treaty prior to the completion of all internal and international requirements for its entry into force. The question of whether a treaty should be provisionally applied usually arises already at the negotiating stage allowing for a clause on provisional application to be included in the text of the treaty. However, provisional application may also be agreed upon at a later stage in some other manner. The provisional application of treaties is dealt with in Article 25 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969 Vienna Convention), and in the corresponding provision of the 1986 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties between States and International Organizations or between International Organizations (1986 Vienna Convention). The provisional application of treaties is a complex matter involving a number of legal questions that merit in-depth analysis. The International Law Commission (ILC) has studied the topic since 2012 and requested States to provide it with information on their position and practice on the topic. Germany responded twice to these requests.