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International Relations & Diplomacy vocabulary · Treaties & Agreements

Binding

Meaning in international relations & diplomacy, with examples

/ˈbaɪndɪŋ/adjectiveCommon term

In international relations & diplomacy, binding means: Creating a legal obligation that the parties must follow, so that a binding agreement or decision cannot simply be ignored.

In Turkish: bağlayıcı

How it is used

Very frequent: 'legally binding', 'non-binding', 'binding on all members'. Diplomats choose carefully between a binding treaty and a non-binding declaration or MoU. Political commitments that are not legally binding are sometimes called 'soft law'.

Example sentences

  1. The declaration is not legally binding, but it carries political weight.

  2. Decisions of the Security Council under Chapter VII are binding on all member states.

  3. Some delegations wanted binding targets, others only voluntary ones.

Common collocations

  • legally binding
  • non-binding
  • binding agreement
  • binding on
  • binding commitment
  • treatyA formal written agreement between states, or between states and international organisations, that is governed by international law and creates legal obligations.
  • memorandum of understandingA written document in which two or more parties record what they have agreed to do together; between states it is usually not legally binding.
  • resolutionA formal decision or statement adopted by vote or consensus in a body such as the UN Security Council or General Assembly, expressing a position or requiring action.
  • international lawThe body of rules that governs relations between states and other international actors, based mainly on treaties, custom and general principles of law.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Treaties & Agreements

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