Global Treaty Practice

Treaties have played a central role in the regulation of inter-State relations since antiquity. They continue to serve as crucial mechanisms not only for mediating existing or potential conflicts in the exercise of State sovereignty, but also in creating and regulating an extensive range of standards, rights and obligations for State and non-State parties alike in virtually all key sectors of human activity. Such a role has become even more pronounced with the increasing integration of societies and economies fostered by globalization. Consequently, treaty issues are often at the centre of deliberations involving the application of laws or the settlement of disputes in both the national and international spheres.

This website has been set up to complement existing initiatives to foster a deeper understanding of the important role played by treaties and the practical implications in the key fields in which treaty law applies, as well as to facilitate compliance in these areas. The website’s focus is on three main areas of practice:

(a) the procedures followed by jurisdictions in negotiating, drafting or producing treaties, as well as signing, consenting to be bound by, or terminating, treaties;

(b) the substance of what contracting jurisdictions agree upon or adopt, as reflected in the written terms and provisions (i.e., the textual content) of treaties; and

(c) the interpretation and application of treaty terms and provisions by the jurisdictions concerned, and the compliance requirements they impose on affected persons.

The initial coverage is on treaties in the fields of investment and taxation. It will be expanded in due course to treaties in other fields such as social security, trade and transportation.

The resources on this website are intended primarily for two main categories of professionals. The first are the staff of firms, organizations, institutions and other professionals serving as advisors, consultants or compliance officers to clients whose affairs or activities are fully or partially governed by treaty law. The second are officials tasked with treaty policy-making and reform, or the negotiation, drafting, interpretation or application of treaties. It is hoped that all other persons with an interest in this field of law, including instructors and researchers, will also find the resources on this site a useful source of reference.

The resources to be featured on this website include:

• Notes and reports on key international developments with an impact on treaty practice.
• Notes and reports on the substantive content of treaties concluded by specific jurisdictions or groups of jurisdictions.
• Reports from practitioners containing insights and practical guidance in all areas of practice within their jurisdictions.
• Products and tools for use in treaty negotiations, analyses and compliance.
• Training courses and capacity-building programs for treaty practitioners.

Global treaty practice notes and reports are intended to provide insightful perspectives and practical guidance in all areas of practice in specific jurisdictions or groups of jurisdictions. Notes contain short and concise single-issue presentations, while reports provide more analytical depth.

Guidelines and applicable conditions for the submission of reports by practitioners interested in publishing on this website are being prepared. Once these are completed and the necessary logistical arrangements are in place, an invitation for submissions will be published on this website.

1. Introduction

The initial series of practice notes being published deal mainly with the content of treaty parts and provisions (i.e. practice area (b)) starting with treaty titles and preambles. The notes seek to reveal patterns in practice with respect to such parts and provisions, and the extent to which they are reflected in the full treaty networks of specific jurisdictions.

2. Treaty Types

The treaties covered at this stage are those in the fields of investment and taxation, comprising bilateral investment treaties (BITs), comprehensive double taxation agreements (DTAs), the BEPS Multilateral Instrument (BEPS MLI), and tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs).

3. Jurisdictions Covered

The illustrations used are based on the treaty practice of the first batch of selected jurisdictions from various regions, as listed below.

3.1. Bilateral Investment Treaties

The practice notes on BITs cover the following jurisdictions: Africa (Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, and South Africa); the Americas (Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States of America); Asia (China (P.R.), Hong Kong (China SAR), Iran, Japan, Korea (Republic), Saudi Arabia, and Singapore); Europe (Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom); and Oceania (Australia and New Zealand).

3.2. Double Taxation Agreements

For DTAs, the jurisdictions covered comprise the following: Africa (Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, and South Africa); the Americas (Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States of America); Asia (China (P.R.), Hong Kong (China SAR), Iran, Japan, Korea (Republic), Saudi Arabia, and Singapore); Europe (Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom); and Oceania (Australia and New Zealand).

3.3. BEPS Multilateral Instrument

The notes on the BEPS MLI cover all jurisdictions that are signatories or parties to the instrument. They provide overviews of the composition of the signatories and parties, as well as the extent to which they have adopted or made reservations to the application of specific MLI standards to their covered tax agreements, as reflected in the reports submitted to the OECD in the process of acceding to the instrument.

3.4. Tax Information Exchange Agreements

The practice notes on TIEAs cover the following jurisdictions: Africa (Mauritius and South Africa); the Americas (Argentina, Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, the British Virgin Islands, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States of America); Asia (China (P.R.), Hong Kong (China SAR), Japan, Korea (Republic), and Singapore); Europe (Gibraltar, Guernsey, Iceland, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Malta, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom); and Oceania (Australia and New Zealand).

4. Treaty Sources

Unless otherwise indicated, the treaties used in preparing these notes are publicly accessible treaty instruments from various official internet sources. These sources are primarily those of the jurisdictions concerned and, in the case of the BEPS MLI, the original instrument and the reports submitted to the OECD by the signatories and parties, as published on the dedicated OECD webpage. The treaties from these sources have been supplemented, where necessary, with those from the collections maintained by UNCTAD (i.e., bilateral investment treaties) and the United Nations.

The notes cover the contents of treaty instruments in force and currently available in English. For available treaties for which no English language versions currently exist, unofficial English translations will be prepared and included in subsequent updates to the practice notes.

This website is managed by Dr. Jude Thaddeus Amos, an independent consultant who has worked in the past on EU and Dutch Government-funded projects, as well as in a variety of other roles, including as a researcher, author and editor at IBFD in the Netherlands, and as a senior tax consultant with a Big Four firm in Luxembourg.

He has also participated in various capacity building initiatives. These include serving as an instructor in a training program on tax treaty law and practice organized at Sydney Law School for tax officials from India, and as manager of the Academy of Public Finance, the Eurasian Fiscal Academy, and the Tax and Good Governance in Africa projects implemented from 2015 to 2018 by the Global Tax Policy Center at the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law of the Vienna University of Economics and Business.

Jude undertook his studies in law and holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree from the University of Ghana; a Master of Laws (LL.M) degree with a commercial focus (i.e., tax, trade, and competition law) from McGill University; a second Master of Laws (LL.M) degree with a focus on the treaty regulation of foreign direct investment from the University of British Columbia; and a PhD with a focus on tax treaty law and practice from the University of Sydney.