b) Termination of treaties as a consequence of a defect of consent
Every person invested with appropriate full powers has the authority to express the consent of the State which he represents to be bound by a given treaty. If this authority has been made subject to a specific restriction which has then not been observed by the representative, the State may invoke this fact as invalidating its consent. However, this possibility only exists, if the restriction had been notified to the other negotiating States before the expression of consent (Article 47), because if this prior notification did not take place, it would be easy to invoke defect of consent by mere political opportunism which, in return, would constitute a behaviour contrary to the principle of
good faith.
The other defects of consent are enumerated exhaustively in the Articles 48 to 52 of the
Vienna Convention. They are the consequence of
- an error (Article 48)
- deceit (Articles 49 and 50)
- or coercion (Articles 51 and 52).
