CEDAW Glossary

Accession

Accession has the same legal effect as ratification. It is the act by which a state accepts the offer or the opportunity to become party to a treaty, after the treaty has entered into force. Both ratification and accession obligate governments to pursue a policy towards fulfilling the objectives of the treaty in the terms laid out in the treaty.

Declaration

A declaration outlines the interpretation given to a particular Article by the State that makes it, and therefore what the state considers itself bound to. Unlike reservations, declarations merely clarify the State’s position and do not purport to exclude or modify the legal effect of a treaty.

De Jure and De Facto

The obligation of results finds resonance in Article 4 that foregrounds the linkage between 'compensatory' measures or affirmative action with 'de facto' equality. De jure refers to what is contained in written laws whereas de facto refers to what happens in fact, in reality. The results or the reality is for CEDAW the real measure of state performance.

Domestic / Municipal Law

It is domestic law that is applicable within a nation. Although nationally it is referred to as national law, in international law parlance it is commonly referred to as municipal law.

Ratification

Ratification is the act by which a state conveys its written consent to be bound to a treaty. Only after ratification does a state become a party to the treaty, commonly referred to as a 'State Party'. A minimum number of ratification is important for a treaty to 'come into force'. CEDAW required a minimum of 20 states to ratify it before came into force. [Article 27]

Reservation

A reservation is a formal declaration that the state does not accept as binding upon it a certain part of the treaty; the reservation can be entered if it is not incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention.

Signature/Signing

Signing obligates governments to do nothing that will violate the principles set forth in the specific Articles of the Convention but does not expressly obligate them to implement the Convention. It gives states an opportunity to examine the extent of similarity or consistency of the domestic/ municipal laws with the treaty and to assess the work that will follow from ratification.

State Parties

State Parties are Governments that have ratified the Convention.

Succession

Succession refers to a situation when a newly constituted state becomes a party to a treaty by expressing its willingness to be bound by international agreements that were entered into by a predecessor state or states. (e.g. Russia might state its willingness to be bound by treaties entered into by the former Soviet Union.)

Treaty

Treaty, in a generic sense, is a legal instrument that is concluded by states or international organizations that hold the power to make treaties. It is the most binding form of international law. Being part of international law, states and not individuals are party to it. A treaty is also referred to as a Convention or Covenant.

(Source: CEDAW- Restoring Rights to Women 2004, UNIFEM South Asia Regional Office and PLD
               The Caribbean Environment Programme website )