The lack of effective enforcement of treaty obligations under international law makes treaties worthless. Critically discuss.
Over the years treaties have become one of the most important sources of international law. They serve many functions and are incomparable as a tool for the creation of rights and obligations between States as well as the regulation of their conduct. It is a principle of customary international law, as well as treaty law, that treaties legally bind the ratifying States. [1] The advantage with treaty is because they allow States to consciously and quickly modify their rights and duties under international law whereas customary international law requires consistent State practice over time to develop. Also, treaties bring about a lot of certainty as their text provides authoritative guidance on their application and scope. Ordinarily, treaties often incorporate their own enforcement mechanisms which may vary and can be in various forms. Generally, in human rights treaties, a committee is created to oversee compliance by signatory States [2] which are required to submit periodical re