Treatiescomprisethewholerangeofinternationalagreementsthataregovernedbyinternationallaw.InthisvolumeintheElementsofInternationalLawseries,RichardGardinerdescribestheessentialroleoftreatiesininternationallaw.Beginningwithanexplanationofwhattreatiesare,thebookexploreshowtheyaremade,howtheyareinterpreted,andhowtheyareimplementedbothinternationallyandwithinnationallegalsystems.Indoingthis,Gardinerprovidesanaccountofthemainfeaturesofthelawoftreatiesanddescribeshowtreatiescontributetotheformationandcodificationofinternationallaw.Healsooutlineshowtreatiesarethefoundationofinternationalorganizationswhich,inturn,throughtheirconstitutivetreatiesandthosetreatieswhichtheydevelop,makeextensivecontributionstointernationallaw.Thebookconcludesbylookingattheroleoftreatiesacrossmultipleareasofinternationallaw,includinghumanrights,tradeandinvestmentlaw,airandspacelaw,telecommunications,internationalcriminallaw,andenvironmentallaw.Thus,thebookshowsthattreaties,andthelegalregimeswhichtheycreate,nowconstitutethepre-eminentcomponentofinternationallaw.
