Denunciation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Article 42 of The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties states that "termination of a treaty, its denunciation or the withdrawal of a party, may take place only as a result of the application of the provisions of the treaty or of the present Convention"[1]. Article 56 states that if a treaty does not provide for denunciation, withdrawal, or termination, it is not subject to denunciation or withdrawal unless:

• it is established that the parties intended to admit the possibility of denunciation or withdrawal; or
• a right of denunciation or withdrawal may be implied by the nature of the treaty.

Any withdrawal under Article 56 requires 12 months' notice.

The Vienna Convention does not apply to all nations; the United States, for instance, is not a Party ^[2]. This makes it unclear exactly how much notice the U.S. must give when withdrawing from treaties lacking a termination clause. For example, on March 7, 2005, the U.S. announced that it was withdrawing from the Consular Convention's Optional Protocol Concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes, a treaty that lacks a termination clause.