Mind the Gaps : The ILC Guide to Practice on Reservations to Human Rights Treaties

This article examines the practice of making reservations to human rights treaties in light of the historical attitude of states to these treaties as well as evolving state practice and forward-thinking efforts on the part of the International Law Commission and others. It is based on a case study of reservations to the core United Nations human rights treaties and a doctrinal study of the general law of reservations to treaties, such as the default reservations regime codified by the 1969 Vienna Convention. It also addresses the problems perpetuated by the object and purpose test, the lack of clarity of the legal effect and consequence of invalid reservations as well as the question of who decides invalidity.