Treaties in Motion
The Evolution of Treaties from Formation to Termination

The book examines treaty law from the angle of types of motion, combining theory with practical examples and empirical data.

Malgosia Fitzmaurice (Author), Panos Merkouris (Author)

9781108495882, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 25 June 2020

402 pages, 7 b/w illus. 8 tables
23.5 x 15.7 x 2.7 cm, 0.75 kg

'At a time when treaties are being increasingly recognised as the central component of modern international law, this book presents an excellent selection of those key topics in the law of treaties that are continuing to undergo development.' Richard Gardiner, Visiting Professor, Faculty of Laws, University College London

The law of treaties is in constant motion, understood not only as locomotion, but also as motion through time and as change. Thus, kinesis and stasis, two sides of the same concept of 'motion', are the central themes of Treaties in Motion. The concept of motion adopted in this book is based on the philosophy of Aristotle. He identified six types of motion: creation (genesis), increase (auxesis), diminution (meiosis), alteration (alloiosis), destruction (phthora), and change of place (kata topon metabole), which has been amended by the authors to change in space-time (kata topon kai chronon metavole) to reflect our modern scientific understanding of time as a dimension through which motion and change occurs. Each chapter's analysis proceeds by focusing on a specific area of a treaty's 'life-cycle', where each type of motion shines through and is described through three different frames of reference: treaties, the Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties, and customary law.

1. Introduction
2. Treaty genesis: concept of a treaty in international law, including its formation and motion
3. Consent to be bound: The force behind the motion of treaties
4. Treaty interpretation and its rules: of motion through time, 'Time-Will' and 'Time-Bubbles'
5. Amendment/Modification/Revision of treaties: motion as change
6. Treaties and their phthora: Withdrawing from and terminating/suspending treaties
7. Concluding remarks.

Subject Areas: International organisations & institutions [LBBU], Public international law [LBB], International relations [JPS]