Is Cites Legally Binding on the Member Parties

CiteS has been one of the nature conservation agreements with the largest members for many years with 183 contracting parties. After four decades, CITES remains one of the cornerstones of international nature conservation. There are 183 member parties and trade in more than 35,000 species is regulated. Representatives of CITES countries meet every two or three years for a Conference of the Parties to review progress and adapt the lists of protected species, which are divided into three categories with different levels of protection: CITES was drafted following a resolution adopted at a meeting of IUCN (World Conservation Union) members in 1963. The text of the Convention was finally approved at a meeting of representatives of 80 countries in Washington, D.C., United States of America, on March 3, 1973, and on July 1, 1975, CITES entered into force. The original of the Convention has been deposited with the Depositary Government in the English, French and Spanish languages, each version being equally authentic. The convention is also available in Chinese and Russian. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, International Convention adopted in March 1973 to regulate world trade in wild fauna and flora. The objective of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is to ensure that international trade does not endanger the survival of a species. By 2019, the number of States Parties to the Convention had increased to 183.

CITES is an international convention to which States and regional economic integration organizations voluntarily adhere. States that have agreed to be bound by the Convention (CITES “acceded”) are referred to as Contracting Parties. Although CITES is legally binding on Parties – in other words, they must implement the Convention – it does not replace national law. Rather, it provides a framework for each Party to adopt its own national legislation to ensure that CITES is implemented at the national level. CITES is one of the largest and oldest existing agreements on conservation and sustainable use. Participation is voluntary and countries that have agreed to be bound by the Convention are called Contracting Parties. Although CITES is legally binding on Contracting Parties, it does not replace national laws. Rather, it provides a framework respected by each Party that must adopt its own national legislation to implement CITES at the national level. Often, national legislation is either non-existent (especially in Parties that have not ratified it) or comes with penalties related to the seriousness of the offence and insufficient deterrence for wildlife traders. [3] In 2002, 50% of Parties did not have one or more of the four main requirements for a Party: designation of managing and scientific authorities; laws prohibiting trade in violation of CITES; sanctions for this trade; Laws providing for the confiscation of specimens. [4] Although the Convention itself does not provide for arbitration or dispute in cases of non-compliance, 36 years of CITES have in practice led to several strategies for addressing violations committed by Parties.

When the Secretariat is informed of a violation by a Party, it shall notify all other Parties. The Secretariat shall give the Party time to respond to allegations and may provide technical assistance to prevent further violations. Other measures not provided for in the Convention itself, but resulting from subsequent resolutions of the Conference of the Parties, may be taken against the Party concerned. The text of the Convention was finalized at a meeting of representatives of 80 countries in Washington, D.C., United States, on 3 March 1973. It was then opened for signature until 31 December 1974. It entered into force after the 10th ratification by a signatory country on 1 July 1975. Countries that have signed the Convention become Parties by ratifying, accepting or approving it. By the end of 2003, all signatory States had become Contracting Parties. States that have not been signatories may become Contracting Parties by acceding to the Convention.

As of October 2016, the Convention had 183 Contracting Parties, including 182 States and the European Union. [8] The national laws of Parties implementing the Convention should give them the power to prohibit i. at least one management authority and one scientific authority ii. trade in specimens in violation of the Convention; iii. punish such trade: and iv. confiscate specimens that are illegally traded or possessed. Appendix III, about 170 species, are species that are added to the list after a member country has requested assistance from other CITES Parties to control trade in a species. Species are not necessarily threatened with extinction worldwide. In all Member States, trade in these species is only permitted with a corresponding export permit and a certificate of origin from the Member State which listed the species.

[16] The declaration process bound by the provisions of CITES is called “ratification”, “acceptance”, “approval” or “accession”. Ratification, acceptance and approval are legally equivalent measures, but apply only to States that have signed the Convention between 3 March 1973 (the date of its conclusion) and 31 December 1974, the date on which it was opened for signature. (Adoption and approval are the actions of some states when constitutional law at the national level does not require the “ratification” of a treaty.) All States that had signed the Convention have now ratified, adopted or approved it […].