Since time immemorial, there have been honorable and honest people, and there are, as we all know, liars, corrupt to the core. And how are things with the states? To what extent do they adhere to the fundamental principle not only of international law, but also of interstate ethics: pacta sunt servanda (contracts must be respected)? Every new bilateral or multilateral agreement, agreement or contract is a new opportunity to demonstrate in action the extent to which an individual state can be trusted, how much it keeps its word (signature). The US-Iran deal (if it’s still in place as you read this) is the latest litmus test in the international laboratory of law and geopolitics.
The law distinguishes between agreements and contracts – every agreement is an agreement, but every agreement is not a contract (which, if it has an international dimension, must be ratified as a rule…
