Opinion | Withdrawal Under Treaty Law: USA's Exit From Solar Alliance & India's Role |
Whether a country can leave an international organisation mainly depends on treaty law. International organisations are created through multilateral treaties, and their legal status, membership, and withdrawal procedures are governed by the law of treaties, particularly the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT). The VCLT provides the primary legal framework for determining if, and under what conditions, a state may withdraw from an international organisation.
According to Article 54 of the VCLT, a state may withdraw from a treaty either in conformity with the treaty’s provisions or with the consent of all parties. When the constitutive instrument of an international organisation expressly contains a withdrawal clause, that clause governs the exit process. Difficulties arise when the treaty is silent on withdrawal, as is the case with several organisational treaties. In such circumstances, Article 56 of the VCLT becomes relevant, establishing a presumption against unilateral withdrawal unless the intention of the parties or the nature of the treaty implies a right to withdraw.
The nature of organisational treaties is particularly important in this........