Legal Definitions - special agreement

A special agreement refers to a formal, specific accord between two or more parties, typically sovereign states, to submit a particular dispute to an international court or arbitration for resolution. Unlike a general treaty that covers broad areas of cooperation, a special agreement is created ad hoc—meaning "for this specific purpose"—to address a single, defined conflict.

This type of agreement precisely details the issues to be decided, the specific questions the court or tribunal should answer, and often the procedural rules to be followed during the dispute resolution process. It serves as the legal basis for the international body's jurisdiction over that particular case, allowing the parties to define the scope of the legal proceedings and the authority granted to the judicial body.

• Example 1: Border Demarcation Dispute

  Imagine two neighboring countries, Ruritania and Syldavia, have a long-standing disagreement over the exact location of their shared border in a mountainous region. Decades of diplomatic talks have failed to resolve the issue. To avoid further conflict, their governments sign a special agreement. This agreement specifically asks the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to determine the precise boundary line based on historical maps, treaties, and geographical features. The agreement outlines the specific coordinates of the disputed area and the legal questions the ICJ must answer.

  This illustrates a special agreement because it is a targeted accord between two states to resolve a single, defined dispute (the border) by referring it to an international judicial body (the ICJ), with clear instructions on the scope of the court's task.

• Example 2: Maritime Rights and Resource Allocation

  Consider two coastal nations, Oceana and Atlantica, that dispute fishing rights and seabed resource exploration in a particular ocean area, as both claim overlapping exclusive economic zones. Rather than escalating the dispute, they draft a special agreement to present their arguments to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). The agreement specifies the exact geographic coordinates of the contested maritime zone and requests ITLOS to delineate the maritime boundaries and allocate resource rights according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

  This is a special agreement because it represents a focused understanding between states to resolve a precise maritime dispute through an international tribunal, clearly outlining the specific issues for resolution.

• Example 3: Interpretation of a Bilateral Treaty Clause

  Suppose two countries, Agraria and Industria, are signatories to an older bilateral trade treaty. They disagree on the interpretation of a specific clause regarding tariffs on imported agricultural products, leading to significant trade friction. To prevent a full-blown trade war, they decide to draft a special agreement. This agreement submits only the question of interpreting that particular treaty clause to an independent arbitration panel. The agreement quotes the disputed clause verbatim and asks the arbitrators to provide a binding interpretation that both countries commit to accepting.

  This demonstrates a special agreement as it is a focused accord to resolve a precise legal disagreement (the interpretation of a specific treaty clause) through an agreed-upon dispute resolution mechanism (an arbitration panel), defining the exact question to be answered.