Treaty
A treaty is a written agreement between two or more parties, which may be countries or other important groups, about any subject. Treaties usually settle or avoid disputes.
Countries may agree to end a war or to declare war on a common enemy by promising to come to the aid of another country if it is attacked. They may allow allow each other's citizens or merchandise to cross borders freely, such as the European Union, which is the result of treaties between most countries in Europe.
In general, treaties are usually used to settle disputes, or to avoid disputes.
Famous treaties
- 1494 - Treaty of Tordesillas
- 1783 - Treaty of Paris
- 1814 - Congress of Vienna
- 1840 - Treaty of Waitangi
- 1919 - Treaty of Versailles
- 1928 - Kellogg-Briand Pact
- 1935 - Roerich Pact
- 1938 - Munich Agreement
- 1944 - Bretton Woods Agreement
- 1945 - United Nations Charter (not strictly a treaty)
- 1947 - General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
- 1949 - North Atlantic Treaty
- 1955 - Warsaw Pact
- 1957 - Treaty of Rome
- 1968 - Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
- 1992 - Treaty of Maastricht
- 1993 - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
- 1998 - Good Friday Agreement
Treaty Media
The Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty, on display at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, was for a long time believed to be the earliest example of any written international agreement of any kind.
The signing of the Geneva Conventions in 1949. A country's signature, through plenipotentiaries with "full power" to conclude a treaty, is often sufficient to manifest an intention to be bound by the treaty.
The International Court of Justice is often called upon to aid in the interpretation or implementation of treaties.
