Article 30: Application Of Successive Treaties Relating To The Same Subject-Matter
In: Commentary on the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of TreatiesSearch for other papers by M.E. Villiger in
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Abstract
Article 30 suggests that when a treaty specifies that it is subject to, or that it is not to be considered as incompatible with an earlier or later treaty, the provisions of that other treaty will prevail. Conflicts of norms""in particular of treaty provisions""are a common feature of international law in view of its decentralised structure, the concomitant absence of common norm-setting agencies, the rise of international cooperation and, as a result, the considerable number of new treaties concluded by the international community each year. Article 30 sets out to resolve conflicts arising from successive treaties, i.e., an earlier and a later treaty both of which are in force. Article 30 extends in its scope beyond the notion of conflicts and incompatibility by addressing more generally the rights and obligations of States parties to successive treaties relating to the same subject-matter and in particular the priority among them.