Article 2 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

Use of terms

1. For the purposes of the present Convention:

(a) “treaty” means an international agreement concluded between States in written form and governed by international law, whether embodied in a single instrument or in two or more related instruments and whatever its particular designation;

(b) “ratification”, “acceptance”, “approval” and “accession” mean in each case the international act so named whereby a State establishes on the international plane its consent to be bound by a treaty;

(c) “full powers” means a document emanating from the competent authority of a State designating a person or persons to represent the State for negotiating, adopting or authenticating the text of a treaty, for expressing the consent of the State to be bound by a treaty, or for accomplishing any other act with respect to a treaty;

(d) “reservation” means a unilateral statement, however phrased or named, made by a State, when signing, ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to a treaty, whereby it purports to exclude or to modify the legal effect of certain provisions of the treaty in their application to that State;

(e) “negotiating State” means a State which took part in the drawing up and adoption of the text of the treaty;

(f) “contracting State” means a State which has consented to be bound by the treaty, whether or not the treaty has entered into force;

(g) “party” means a State which has consented to be bound by the treaty and for which the treaty is in
force;

(h) “third State” means a State not a party to the treaty;

(i) “international organization” means an intergovernmental organization.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 regarding the use of terms in the present Convention are without
prejudice to the use of those terms or to the meanings which may be given to them in the internal law of
any State.

See also: Article 1 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties