What criteria are used to differentiate between an international treaty and a politically binding

document? What is the difference in the legal status of a treaty, convention, act, pact, charter,
declaration, joint statement, communique?

1. International treaty are agreements between states and/or international organizations. Treaties are
primary sources of international law. Conventional international law is based on consent of state
parties and as such the treaty applies only between those parties. Treaties only bind nonparties when
they form the basis for customary international law. Customary International Law is formed when
states consistently act in a certain way out of a sense of legal obligation. State practice includes
domestic legislation, regulations, treaties, judicial decisions, diplomatic communications, NGO and
IGO practice. Look at judicial decisions and executive communications for evidence of opinio juris. A
state may escape the application of customary international law by being a persistent objector.
Such documents containing only political declarations and political commitments are not legally
binding documents, they are called “Soft Law”.
Politically binding document is any contract with agreed upon terms which include actions that are
required or prohibited. Traditionally, contracts address providing goods and services in exchange for
payment, although they can also reflect barter situations that trade services or goods. When done
correctly, a legally binding agreement is enforceable in a court of law. Parties may collect damages if
one of the parties fails to meet the requirements in the contract. A document that's legally binding
can be upheld in court. Any agreement that two parties make can be legally enforced, whether it's
written or verbal.
Therefore, the difference between them two is that Treaties are not forbidding anything in exchange
of a penalty, as to the binding documents, which are doing so. The subject of those documents is also
different, where Treaties are concerned with the relationship between states and international
organisations, and the binding documents are concerned with the trade services or goods.

2. Legal status is the position held by something or someone with regard to law. It is a set
of privileges, obligations, powers or restrictions that a person or thing has which are encompassed in
or declared by legislation.
a. Treaty - establishes obligations between two or more subjects of international law
b. Convention - a multilateral instrument of a lawmaking, codifying, or regulatory nature
i. Treaties and conventions require ratification, an executive act of final approval
c. Act - formal written enactment produced by a legislature, could be regulation and it is part of
the law
d. Pact - a formal agreement between two people or groups of people
e. Charter - a document incorporating an institution and specifying its rights; includes the
articles of incorporation and the certificate of incorporation
f. Declaration - a statement that is emphatic and explicit, it could be spoken or written
g. Joint statements - issued periodically to provide detailed information regarding the state of
finances for more than one affiliated individual, organization or business
h. Communique - an official message that's sent between people or to a media outlet