CYIL vol. 10 (2019)

CYIL 10 ȍ2019Ȏ VIENNA CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF TREATIES AND TREATIES ON ARMS … events in the treaties on disarmament and arms restrictions does not modify or exclude the general rule of material breach of an international treaty. The application of Article 60 and Article 62 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties is limited to the defined grounds, which the state must comply. The practical application of the defined grounds is thus much more difficult than in the case of extraordinary events. For example, the valid invocation of the rebus sic stantibus clause, as a reason for withdrawal, is according to the opinion of the authors Joyner and Roscini 47 , generally limited to the case of significant events in international relations. They assume that the International Law Commission took account of modern trends in the draft Article 62, when the explicit provisions on withdrawal are contained in a number of international treaties. The text of the Vienna Convention contains more limited grounds for applying the rebus sic stantibus clause, as opposed to the past. In addition, in cases of a substantial breach of the treaty and a substantial change of circumstances, the state invokes these grounds to terminate the contract. The withdrawal does not take place automatically on the basis of mere fact 48 , but it is necessary to claim it and successfully complete the procedure within the meaning of Article 65 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. In the case of extraordinary events, it is sufficient to notify the other contracting parties, and sometimes the UN Security Council as well, that the state withdraws from the treaty. However, contrary to the exceptional events, Articles 60 and 62 of the Vienna Convention can also be used as a reason for simple suspension of an international treaty. Recently, another disarmament agreement has been withdrawn . This is the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF), concluded in 1987. The Treaty prohibits shorter-range missiles of 500- 1,000 km and a medium range of 1,000- 5,500 km with nuclear or conventional nuclear warheads fired from ground habitats. Under this treaty, two categories of nuclear weapons have been completely destroyed. It is considered to be the foundation of nuclear safety in Europe. The USA announced a withdrawal from the treaty on 1 February 2019. The treaty contains similar grounds for withdrawal, which were already contained in the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963. Article XV of this treaty contains a period of six months from the date of notification; once passing this interval, the effects of the state withdrawing from the agreement enter into force. The reason for the US withdrawal from the Treaty is Russia’s allegation that it broke the treaty by producing a missile rocket, which is prohibited by the INF treaty. Moscow denied that with reasoning the range of the new SSC-8 (Novator 9M729 in Russia) missile does not violate the treaty. Test of this missile was carried out at a shooting range in Russia in September 2018, the missile reportedly flew only less than 480 kilometres. Russia was willing to show the SSC-8 to NATO and the European Union. NATO has fully supported the US in its decision to withdraw from the treaty. North Atlantic Council, which is NATO’s highest political body, called upon Russia Non-proliferation Treaties. Cambridge University Press, Online publication date, October 2012, p. 2. (www. cambridge.org/core/books/non-proliferation-law-as-a-special-regime/withdrawal-from-nonproliferation- treaties/), quoted 20 March 2019, p. 4. 47 Ibid. 48 TÝČ, V. O vnitrostátní přímé závaznosti mezinárodních smluv . [On national direct binding effect of international treaties]. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 1996, p. 117.

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