11 FAM 730
GUIDELINES FOR CONCLUDING INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
(CT:POL-70; 10-15-2018)
(Office of Origin: L/T)
11 FAM 731 bilateral and multilateral
Agreements
11 FAM 731.1 Method of Concluding
Bilateral and Multilateral Agreements
(CT:POL-45; 05-26-2006)
An agreement may be concluded through bilateral
negotiations, which result either in the signing of a single instrument in
duplicate or in an exchange of diplomatic notes, or through multilateral
negotiations, usually at an international conference to which the governments
concerned send official delegations to formulate and adopt or sign an
instrument of agreement.
11 FAM 731.2 Bilateral Treaties and
Agreements: Negotiation and Background Assistance
(CT:POL-57; 10-14-2014)
Whenever the negotiation of a new international agreement
is under consideration, the Department office or the post having primary
responsibility informs the Legal Adviser and may, if considered necessary, request
background material and advice regarding relevant provisions in existing
treaties and agreements, the general treaty relations of this Government with
the government or governments concerned, and other pertinent information.
11 FAM 731.3 Instructions to
Negotiators
(CT:POL-70; 10-15-2018)
a. When an agreement is to be concluded at a foreign
capital, the Department designates the U. S. negotiator or negotiators, and the
negotiator or negotiators are given appropriate instructions. If the agreement
to be negotiated is a treaty that will be referred to the Senate, the Secretary
of State may at some time prior to or during the negotiations issue or request
the President to issue a "full power" (see 11 FAM 733)
constituting formal authorization for the United States negotiators to sign the
agreement. Such a "full power" is not customary with respect to an
international agreement other than a treaty. Receiving or possessing a
"full power" is never to be considered as a final authorization to
sign.
b. The Department gives that authorization by written
instruction, and no signature is affixed in the absence of such instruction.
If the proposal for an agreement originates with the United States, the U.S. negotiators as a rule furnish a tentative draft of the proposed agreement for
submission to the other government for its consideration. The negotiators
submit to the Department any modification of the draft or any counterproposal
made by the other government and await instructions from the Department. If
the original proposal emanates from a foreign government, the mission forwards
the proposal to the Department and awaits its instructions.
11 FAM 731.4 Preparation of Texts
for Signature
(CT:POL-57; 10-14-2014)
a. If an agreement is to be signed at a post abroad as
a single instrument (in duplicate), preparing the documents to be signed is
customarily done in the foreign ministry on paper supplied by it, along with a
binding and ribbons to tie the pages in place. However, the mission may lend
assistance if the foreign ministry so desires. There is no universal standard
as to the kind or size of paper which must be used (each foreign ministry has
its own "treaty paper"). For every bilateral agreement there must be
two originals, one for each government. Each original must embody the full
text of the agreement in all the languages in which the agreement is to be
signed, and must be exactly the same as the other original subject only to the
principle of the "alternat."
b. In the case of an agreement effected by an exchange
of notes, the U.S. notes are prepared in English and in accordance with 5 FAH-1 H-611.
The note of the foreign government is prepared in accordance with the style of
the foreign ministry and usually in the language of that country. Whenever
practicable, arrangements are made for the notes to bear the same date.
11 FAM 731.5 Arrangement of Texts
and Principle of the Alternat
11 FAM 731.5-1 Arrangement of
Texts
(CT:POL-57; 10-14-2014)
a. When English and a language other than English are
both used, the texts in the two languages are placed:
(1) In tandem" fashion, that is, with one text
following the other (the tandem procedure is the most widely used as it is the
most expeditious); or
(2) In parallel, vertical columns on the same page,
the columns being approximately of equal width; or
(3) On opposite facing pages of the document the
entire width of the type or printed space on the page.
b. If the two languages are placed tandem'' fashion,
the English text is placed first in the U.S. original, and conversely in the
foreign government's original.
c. If parallel columns are used, the English text is
placed in the left column of each page in the original to be retained by the
United States, and the foreign text appears in the right column. In the other
original, to be retained by the foreign government, the foreign text appears in
the left column, and the English text in the right column.
d. If the two languages are placed on opposite facing
pages of the document, the English text occupies the left-hand page and the
foreign text the right-hand page in the U.S. original, and conversely in the
foreign government's original. If either the "tandem" or the
"opposite facing page" style is used, the concluding part (usually
beginning "IN WITNESS WHEREOF," "DONE, etc.) should appear in
parallel columns on the page on which the signatures will appear, so that only
one set of signatures is required for each separately bound document (see 11 FAM Exhibit
731.5). If parallel signature columns are not feasible, the concluding
paragraphs can be placed in "tandem" fashion on the page on which the
signatures appear (see 11 FAM Exhibit
731.5).
e. If a foreign text is one which, from the occidental
viewpoint, reads from back to front, it may be possible to join the two texts
in a single binding so that the signatures appear, roughly speaking, in the
center of the document. If this is not feasible, the negotiators should seek
instructions from the Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Treaty Affairs
(L/T).
11 FAM 731.5-2 Arrangement of
Names and Signatures and Use of Titles
(CT:POL-57; 10-14-2014)
a. In the original that the United States retains, the
United States is named first in both the English and foreign texts, wherever
the names of the countries occur together conjunctively or disjunctively, and
the signature of the plenipotentiary of the United States appears on the left
and that of the foreign plenipotentiary on the right of the original that the
United States retains. Conversely, throughout both of the language texts of
the original that the foreign government retains, that government is named
first and its plenipotentiary's signature appears to the left of the signature
of the U.S. plenipotentiary. The position of full sentences, paragraphs, or
subparagraphs in the text is never transposed in the alternat procedure.
b. The general practice and preference of the
Department of State is not to use titles along with signatures, especially
where the President or the Secretary of State signs. However, if preferred by
the other party or parties concerned, titles may be typed below where
each will sign (with ample space allowed for the signature). Generally, only
one person signs for each party.
11 FAM 732 CONFORMITY OF TEXTS
(CT:POL-57; 10-14-2014)
After the documents have been prepared for signature on
the basis of agreed texts, and before the agreement is signed, the negotiators
or other responsible officers on each side make sure that the texts in both
originals of the prepared agreement are in exact conformity with each other and
with the texts in the drafts agreed to, and especially that where a foreign
language is included, that text and the English text are in conformity in all
substantive respects. Prior to document preparation, it should have been
determined that the foreign-language text is essentially (that is, as a matter
of substance) in accord with the English text, and that it has received the
clearance of the Department as required in 11 FAM 722,
subparagraph (6).
11 FAM 733 EXCHANGE OR EXHIBITION OF
FULL POWERS
(CT:POL-57; 10-14-2014)
a. Each representative who is to sign a treaty is
furnished a full power signed by the head of state, head of government, or
minister for foreign affairs. More than one representative should be named in
a single instrument of full power. On occasion, formal full powers may be (but
customarily are not in U.S. practice) issued for signing certain
agreements other than treaties. When issued, the full power is formal evidence
of the authority of the representative to sign on behalf of the
representative's government. It names the representative, with title, and
gives a clear indication of the particular instrument of agreement that the
representative is entitled to sign. Full powers for representatives of the
United States are prepared by the Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for
Treaty Affairs (L/T) and generally are signed by the Secretary or Acting
Secretary of State. On occasion, full powers are signed by the President.
b. If the agreement itself requires the exchange of
full powers, they are exchanged. If not, they may be either exchanged or
exhibited by the representatives on the occasion of signing the agreement, as
may be preferred by the foreign representative. If a full power is required,
the U.S. representative shall not proceed to sign the treaty until the
full power is in hand, or the Department specially instructs otherwise. If
exchanged, the original full power of the foreign representative is forwarded
to the Department with the U.S. original of the signed agreement. If the
representatives retain the original of the respective full powers, each
representative should supply the other representative with a copy or a
certified copy of the full power.
11 FAM 734 SIGNATURE AND SEALING
(CT:POL-57; 10-14-2014)
After a treaty or other international agreement that is to
be signed as a single instrument has been completed, the host government makes
mutually convenient arrangements for its signature. In the case of treaties,
the signatures of the representatives may be accompanied by their respective
seals, ribbons being fastened in the seals and binding the documents. The same
procedure may be followed for other agreements signed as single instruments.
It is not essential that seals be affixed, unless the agreement specifically so
requires (the preference of the Department of State is not to use
seals).
11 FAM 735 EXCHANGE OF RATIFICATIONS
11 FAM 735.1 Time and Place of
Exchange
(CT:POL-45; 05-26-2006)
It is customary for a treaty to contain a simple provision
to the effect that the instruments of ratification will be exchanged as soon as
possible at a designated capital, and that the treaty will enter into force on
the date of such exchange or at the expiration of a specified number of days or
months following the date of exchange. (As all treaties signed on the part of
the United States are subject to ratification by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, and as the time required for action on any particular
treaty cannot be foreseen, it is preferable that provision is made in the
treaty that the instruments of ratification are to be exchanged "as soon
as possible" rather than within a specified period.)
11 FAM 735.2 Effecting the Exchange
(CT:POL-45; 05-26-2006)
a. In exchanging instruments of ratification, the
representative of the United States hands to the representative of the foreign
government a duplicate original of the President's instrument of ratification.
In return, the representative of the foreign government hands to the
representative of the United States the instrument of ratification executed by
the head or the chief executive of the foreign government. A protocol,
sometimes called "Protocol of Exchange of Ratifications" or
procs-verbal, attests that the exchange has been signed by the two
representatives. No full power is required for this purpose.
b. The protocol of exchange is signed in duplicate
originals, one for each government, and the principle of the alternat is
observed as in the treaty. Before making the exchange and signing the
procs-verbal or protocol of exchange, the diplomatic representative of the United States must be satisfied that the ratification of the foreign government is an
unqualified ratification, or subject only to such reservations or
understandings as have been agreed to by the two governments.
11 FAM 735.3 Notification of Date
of Exchange
(CT:POL-45; 05-26-2006)
In all cases, but particularly in those in which the
treaty enters into force on the day of the exchange, it is essential that the
mission formally notify the Department by whatever means practicable when
arrangements have been completed for the exchange, and also when the exchange
actually takes place. By the first pouch after the exchange takes place, the
mission should forward to the Department the instrument of ratification of the
foreign government and the U.S. Government's original of the signed
procs-verbal or protocol of exchange.
11 FAM 736 THROUGH 739 UNASSIGNED
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11 FAM Exhibit 731.5
Arrangement of Texts and Principle of the Alternat
(CT:POL-45; 05-26-2006)
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly
authorized by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.
DONE at Washington, in duplicate, this twenty-fifth day
of September, 2006, in the English and Thai languages, each text being
equally authentic.
For the Government of the For the Government
of the
United States of America Kingdom
of Thailand
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In Witness Whereof,
the respective representatives
have signed the present Treaty.
Done in duplicate in the
English and Spanish languages
at Madrid this fifth day of March,
2006, each text being equally
authentic.
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en fe de lo cual, los
respectivos representantes
firmaron la presente Tratado.
Hecho en duplicado, en
los idiomas ingls y espaol,
en Madrid, el da cinco de
marzo, 2006, siendo ambos
textos igualmente autnticos.
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For the Government of the United States of America:
Por el Gobierno de los Estados Unidos de America:
for the Government of Spain:
por el Gobierno de Espaa:
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