Legal maxim

Dear Aakritu,

The maxim “Pacta Sunt Servanda” literally means “agreements must be kept”. It is the oldest principle of International Law without which no International Law would be binding. This maxim also finds its application in the Civil Law. It basically states that every agreement that is valid and has been signed in good faith must be kept and all requirements must be made by both the parties in order to fulfil the promises of the agreement. The principles of Pacta Sunt Servanda are used extensively in the Permanent Court of Justice and the International Court of Justice. Article 26 of the Vienna Convention establishes the principle of Pacta Sunt Servanda. This article states that all the agreements signed by the parties must be signed in good faith and binds all the parties involved in that agreement.

Nuclear Test Court (Australia v. France)

In tis case, the Court held that applying the principle of Pacta Sunt Servanda it was important that all the treaties were kept and that cooperation in all the field were maintained by the nations.

I hope I was able to solve your query. Please feel free to leave any questions.

“Pacta Sunt Servanda” is a Latin term which basically means “agreements must be kept”. It is one of the oldest principals of international law and holds a great significance in the history as well. This particular maxim is widely used in many international treaties including the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties Between States and International Organisations (1986). Under article 18 of the VCLT, states are asked to refrain from doing anything that may violate the structure of the treaty and article 26 of the same very clearly states that “every treaty in force is binding upon the parties to it and must be performed by them in good faith”. Both the articles clearly depicts the importance of this general principle of law which acts as a great source in international sphere.

The only condition to the treaty and this principle in international law is that it should not violate the fundamental laws of any country, in some cases countries incorporated their laws and the treaty as the municipal laws. 

In the case of ‘treatment of Polish Nationals and Other Persons of Polish Origins and Speech’, it was declared  that one cannot expect a consenting country to harm their own constitution in order to abide by rules of any treaty. 

In the case of ‘Norwegian loans’ in 1957the court observed that “Unquestionably, the obligation to act in accordance with good faith being a general principle of law” is also a part of international law.  

The principle of Pacta Sunt Servanda was criticised in the Nuclear Test Case of Australia vs. France where the court held that its crucial to keep the treaties intact and cooperation must prevail amongst the nations.