نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله English
نویسندگان English
The rapid transformations of digital technologies over the past two decades have opened an entirely new horizon for international law, particularly in the field of treaties and transnational agreements. Tools such as blockchain, smart contracts, digital signatures, cloud computing, and advanced cryptographic algorithms have emerged not only as technical mechanisms but also as epistemological foundations reshaping legal processes. While they allow more precise, transparent, and accelerated implementation of treaty obligations, they simultaneously raise concerns about legitimacy, consistency with traditional legal principles, and legal security.This article, grounded in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and complemented by international instruments such as UNCITRAL guidelines, provides a comparative analysis of how digital technologies affect the entire life cycle of international treaties—from negotiation and drafting to ratification, implementation, interpretation, and eventual termination. A qualitative–analytical method is employed, reviewing existing scholarship and assessing concrete examples of digital agreements in the European Union, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and other multilateral frameworks.The study identifies key opportunities: using blockchain to record treaty amendments and reservations; employing smart contracts for automatic execution of provisions; monitoring states’ compliance with climate commitments through the Internet of Things and big data; and documenting diplomatic negotiations in real time. Beyond technical efficiency, these mechanisms can serve as instruments of trust-building, reducing room for politically motivated interpretations.At the same time, several challenges are underscored: the absence of transnational norms for recognizing digital instruments, jurisdictional conflicts, vulnerability to cyberattacks, and the slow adaptation of classical legal institutions. Moreover, gaps in legal and technical training for diplomats and jurists are highlighted as structural barriers to establishing international digital governance.In conclusion, the article stresses the need for new international protocols to harness digital technologies within treaty law. It further calls for inter-institutional cooperation, curricular reform in legal education, and the strengthening of multilateral “tech diplomacy” as indispensable steps for managing the transition toward a digital legal order.
کلیدواژهها English