Examples
of Ratification Processes by States Parties
This section
shows the range of processes by which States ratify international
treaties, such as the OP-CEDAW, and thus agree to be bound by
them. Since the rules and process for ratification of international
treaties will vary from country to country and may change over
time, the information here is meant to be illustrative of the
processes by which ratification takes place at the national level,
and is not exhaustive.
Argentina
At first, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other representatives
of government bodies analyse the treaty and recommend the Legislature
to discuss and approve its ratification. In both the Senate
and the Congress, a simple majority vote is needed for ratification
of a treaty. After the votes of approval, the treaty is sent
for the signature of the President, and then to the Foreign
Affairs Ministry which deposits it at the UN. The ratification
act must be published in the official gazette of the government
in order to make an international treaty part of the domestic
law. The development of implementing legislation follows ratification.
Bangladesh
In the Constitution, there is no provision for the ratification
procedure for an international treaty. However, there is also
no constitutional obligation to take approval from Parliament
to ratify any international treaty. The UN Desk at the Ministry
for Foreign Affairs generally makes the proposal for signature
or ratification of any international treaty. After taking a
decision in the Ministry, a formal proposal is sent to the inter-ministerial
bodies. The Law Commission of Bangladesh is responsible for
scrutinising the treaty from the domestic legal perspective.
The Finance Ministry must also examine potential financial implications.
The Government may form an inter-ministerial committee to comment
on the impact of the instrument at the national level as well
on foreign policy considerations, or other concerned ministries
may be asked to send comments. After a concrete proposal is
made by the relevant ministry, the issue is raised before the
Cabinet. The Cabinet of the Bangladesh government, chaired by
the Prime Minister, takes the final decision regarding signature
or ratification of the concerned instrument. Generally, according
to the rules of procedure, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is
responsible for signing the ratification instrument
Canada
Implementing legislation has to be submitted with the ratification
bill and both have to be passed through the House of Commons
(Parliament) and the Senate. The key government agencies which
have been involved throughout the process are the Ministries
of Justice, Foreign Affairs, and Defense.
Egypt
In practical terms, the decision of whether or not to ratify
a treaty is taken primarily at the level of the President’s
office. In procedural terms, the Foreign Ministry signs international
treaties, the ratification of which then requires the consent
of the Council of Ministers (the Maglis al-Wuzara, or in more
familiar terms, the Cabinet), and, following this, the consent
of the People’s Assembly (the Maglis al-Shaab). Before
promulgation, laws are subject to review by the Constitutional
Court. Once the Court determines that there are no constitutional
barriers, the treaty is published in the Official Gazette and
then takes effect.
Netherlands
Civil servants of the relevant ministries (Council of Ministers)
prepare the explanatory report on the treaty and the draft ratification
bill and send it to the Council of State. After the advice of
the Council of State, these documents are put before the Second
Chamber of Parliament for a written and subsequently an oral
procedure, after which the First Chamber of Parliament presents
a written and an oral procedure of approval. These proceedings
usually take up to one and a half years. In this case, before
the entry into force of the treaty at the national level, the
required implementation legislation will be submitted for a
similar procedure.
Sweden
Ratification requires the approval of Parliament (Riksdag) and
normally the necessary legislation for implementing the obligations
arising from an international treaty must be submitted to Parliament
together with the bill of ratification. In general, very thorough
preparations are made before a bill is presented to Parliament
and the parliamentary process is relatively swift. Extensive
commentaries are attached to Swedish bills for legislation.
A draft bill is elaborated in a ministerial memorandum containing
a description of the negotiating history, an account of the
content of the Statute, an analysis and evaluation of the solutions
to the more important issues involved and the Statute as a whole,
a financial estimate, and proposals for legislation with commentary.
The translated Statute is annexed to the memorandum. After inter-ministerial
preparations, this is submitted for comments within three months
to a number of institutions such as the Parliamentary Ombudsman,
courts, the Prosecutor-General, the National Prison Administration,
the Defence Headquarters, universities, NGOs, etc. Based on
the memorandum and comments received, a revised draft bill (including
the information noted above for the memorandum) is produced,
circulated inter-ministerially and submitted to a panel of Supreme
Court Judges (the Legislative Council). The Council considers
draft legislation from the point of view of consistency, legal
technique and constitutionality before it is proposed to the
Riksdag. After incorporation of the views of the Council, the
draft bill is transformed into a Government Bill (proposition)
to the Riksdag, proposing approval of the ratification of the
Statute and adoption of the legislation. The bill is decided
formally by the Government. In the Riksdag, the bill can be
the object of private members’ motions. The bill, together
with any such motions, is sent to the appropriate Committee(s)
for consideration. The Committee’s formal report is then
discussed in the Plenary where a decision is taken. The decision
is then communicated to Government which enacts the legislation
and deposits the instrument of ratification. By virtue of the
Riksdag Act, if an amendment to the Constitution is required,
it shall be amended by means of two identical decisions with
a general election intervening. Certain decisions require a
qualified majority. As a general rule, human rights treaties
in Sweden are accorded special status in cases where there is
a conflict with domestic legislation.
This
page was last updated on August 16, 2004
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