There are many international conventions in the world. They are very important for the development of the world. Most international conventions made between two or more states are binding agreements to the contracting states but not all conventions. They bring good outcomes in economic, social, political and many other terms for all the contracting parties. Also, international conventions cover a range of areas including trade, science, crime, disarmament, transport and human rights. But there are notable flaws in international conventions. Consequently, many international conventions do not bring the desired outcomes for the contracting parties. For better outcomes of international conventions, varied flaws and challenges need to be well-addressed.
There are many international conventions and treaties in the world. The UN Convention on Independent Guarantees and Standby Letters of Credit, the UN Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts and the UN Convention on the Assignment of Receivables in International Trade are some notable international conventions. Most international conventions are single conventions while some conventions can be a series of conventions. For instance, the Hague Conventions (of 1899 and 1907) — negotiated at two international peace conferences at The Hague in the Netherlands — are a series of international treaties and declarations. Although many conventions are legally binding, they are not enforced by courts as is the case for the enforcement of national laws. Instead, conventions are enforced by political pressure.
But there are conceptual, enforcement-based and other limitations to international conventions. One of the most important limitations is the limitation in the conceptualization of controversial terms. Sometimes, different terms used in conventions are vague. Of course, implementation, inadequate enforcement mechanisms and ineffective oversight mechanisms are other vital limitations. The implementation of many international conventions is low. This is mainly because there is a lack of an international government, international parliament and law-enforcement agencies. Even if intergovernmental organizations including the UN and international courts deal with some issues, they cannot force the implementation of international conventions. Though political and other sorts of pressures are given that sometimes help to implement conventions, there is consequently a paucity of their implementation.
Also, there is a lack of them in many other conventions, even though there are strong enforcement mechanisms in many conventions. Other causes including a lack of or inadequate enforcement mechanisms, conflicting social norms and the lack of capacity of states make it more difficult to implement international conventions. Also, there are other limitations including the refraining of many countries from the ratification of conventions, an outright conflict with national laws and customs and a slow process of enforcement or lengthy oversight mechanisms of international conventions. Many international conventions are adopted or ratified by a small number of nation states, despite the importance of such conventions in many countries. Probably, conflicts between national laws and conventions reduce adoption and hinder implementation.
Many international conventions consequently do not produce their intended effects, although they are bringing enormous positive outcomes in many aspects including international trade and financial affairs in different countries. Among the conventions, binding conventions bring out more good outcomes. But the outcomes of non-binding conventions are rendered to be very low. Conventions that focus on policy domain, trade and some other aspects are more implemented especially when they include options for financial sanctions on countries or expelling countries from treaty bodies. Moreover, international conventions that are negotiated and made by a few countries are more likely to be implemented and bring intended outcomes compared to those that are made by more nations.
Also, those international conventions that put emphasis on the accountability mechanisms within conventions including transparency mechanisms for information sharing, oversight mechanisms for monitoring parties, complaint mechanisms for adjudicating grievances and enforcement mechanisms are more likely to be implemented and bring the expected outcomes on most occasions. But it is not always correct that putting emphasis on transparency mechanisms leads to the intended impacts of international conventions. A study carried out by Mathew JP Poirier identified that complaint, oversight and transparency clauses were not associated with greater effectiveness. But the modifiable treaty design choice with the inclusion of enforcement mechanisms can lead to greater implementation and more intended effects.
But the above concerns need to be well-addressed to make sure that international conventions, the content of which is chosen and which are adopted by states, serve the reasonable interests of all the parties and bring the desired outcomes across countries. In this respect, emphasis needs to be given to the implementation of crime reduction based, investment oriented and other international conventions. More engagement of nation-states in the formulation of conventions may help to reduce challenges to implementation and may be helpful to their implementation. Effective implementation mechanisms need to be incorporated into international conventions. Emphasis also needs to be given to how future international treaties can be better designed for greater impact. Keeping the scope of updating important conventions is also imperative.
Definitely, cooperation from states, along with international organizations, is crucial for the successful implementation of international conventions and making sure that they bring the desired economic, social and other outcomes. In this respect, it is imperative to delineate/indicate how national governments and international institutions facilitate global cooperation on various challenges to implementation. The inclusion of some sort of incentives for implementation may also be helpful.
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