The Effect of Article 4 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969

The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969 (The Convention) allows members to distinguish between rules which are authoritative only because of inclusion in the Convention, and those which exist as independent customary international law. In areas such as dispute settlement the rules of the Convention lack the status of customary international law. This article analyses Article 4 of the Convention which was recently examined in the case United Kingdom - France Continental Shelf, Arbitration (1977) 54 I.L.R. 303, to illustrate its significance where a dispute arises between parties.