Article 45 Entry into Force

This chapter examines Article 45 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which deals with the entry into force of the Convention. The practice of the UN in respect of multilateral treaties suggests an antipathy towards their entry into force without a substantial quorum of ratifications. Article 45(1) CRPD does not depart from the UN model whereby a treaty enters into force in relation to existing (ratifying) parties and not independently of them. In accordance with customary law as reflected in Article 24(4) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, Article 45 CRPD applies not from the moment the treaty enters into force, but rather from the ‘moment of the adoption of the text’. The adoption of the text of a treaty does not necessarily coincide with the signing of the treaty. The text of the CRPD was adopted on 13 December 2006 but was opened for signature on 30 March 2007.