Deposition

In international law, deposition refers to the procedural act of transmitting an instrument—typically of ratification, accession, acceptance, or approval—to the depositary designated by a treaty. The depositary, which may be a state (often the host of the negotiations) or an international organization such as the UN Secretary-General, records the instrument, notifies other parties, and triggers the legal consequences specified in the treaty's final clauses.

The governing rules are set out in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT, 1969), particularly Articles 76–77 on depositaries and Article 16, which provides that instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval, or accession establish a state's consent to be bound upon their deposit with the depositary (unless the treaty provides otherwise, such as requiring notification to other parties).

Key functions performed at deposition include:

• Custody of the original treaty text and certified copies.
• Examination of whether the instrument is in due and proper form.
• Notification to signatories and contracting parties of the deposit, including any reservations or declarations attached.
• Registration with the UN Secretariat under Article 102 of the UN Charter, which conditions invocability before UN organs on registration.

Deposition is distinct from signature (which generally does not bind the state, though under VCLT Article 18 it creates an interim obligation not to defeat the treaty's object and purpose) and from domestic ratification (the internal constitutional process authorizing the executive to deposit). A state is typically not considered a party until its instrument is deposited and any treaty-specified entry-into-force conditions—such as a minimum number of depositions or a waiting period—are satisfied.

Reservations, objections, and withdrawals are also lodged through deposition, making the depositary a central clearinghouse for the legal status of multilateral treaties.