Treaty vs. Contract — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Urooj Arif — Updated on April 8, 2024
A treaty is an agreement under international law between states or international entities, whereas a contract is a legal agreement between parties, enforceable by law.
Difference Between Treaty and Contract
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Treaties are formal agreements made under international law, often involving states or international organizations, aimed at regulating matters of mutual concern. Whereas contracts are agreements between individuals or entities enforceable by domestic law, tailored to specific transactions or relationships.
Treaties are governed by international law and principles established by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, focusing on state-to-state or international entity relations. On the other hand, contracts are governed by the domestic law of the jurisdiction in which they are formed, dealing with a wide range of matters from commercial agreements to personal services.
While treaties require ratification by the state parties involved and become part of international law, contracts require mutual consent of the parties and consideration to be legally binding under the jurisdiction's law.
Treaties often have broader implications for national policy and international relations, reflecting the geopolitical and economic interests of the states involved. In contrast, contracts typically concern the rights, duties, and interests of the parties to the agreement, with a more immediate and practical impact on those involved.
The negotiation of treaties is usually a complex and formal process involving diplomatic representatives and subject to international protocols, whereas contract negotiations can vary in formality and are conducted directly by the parties or their legal representatives.
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Comparison Chart
Nature
International agreement under international law.
Legal agreement under domestic law.
Parties
States or international entities.
Individuals, companies, or entities.
Governing Law
International law and principles (e.g., Vienna Convention).
Domestic law of a particular jurisdiction.
Purpose
Regulate matters of mutual concern among states, peace treaties, etc.
Specify the rights and duties of parties in personal or business dealings.
Enforcement
International courts or arbitration panels.
Domestic courts or arbitration.
Compare with Definitions
Treaty
Lacks a central enforcement mechanism but relies on mutual consent and international norms.
Disputes under treaties are often resolved through international arbitration.
Contract
A legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties with mutual obligations.
She signed a contract for the sale of her house.
Treaty
Governed by international law, requiring ratification.
Many countries ratified the Paris Agreement to address climate change.
Contract
Central to business operations and personal agreements.
Contracts are essential for defining business relationships and expectations.
Treaty
Often broad, affecting national policies and international relations.
The START treaties significantly reduced the nuclear arsenals of the US and Russia.
Contract
Specific to the parties involved and can range from simple to complex arrangements.
The employment contract outlined the terms of employment, including salary and duties.
Treaty
Reflects geopolitical interests and can influence international law.
The Non-Proliferation Treaty aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
Contract
Enforced by domestic courts or through arbitration.
The breach of contract was settled in court.
Treaty
A formal and legally binding agreement between sovereign states or between international entities in areas of mutual interest.
The Treaty of Versailles was signed to conclude World War I.
Contract
Subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which it was formed.
The contract was governed by the state's commercial law.
Treaty
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually entered into by sovereign states and international organizations, but can sometimes include individuals, business entities, and other Legal persons.
Contract
A contract is a legally binding document between at least two parties that defines and governs the rights and duties of the parties to an agreement. A contract is legally enforceable because it meets the requirements and approval of the law.
Treaty
A formal written agreement between two or more nations.
Contract
An agreement between two or more parties, especially one that is written and enforceable by law.
Treaty
The document in which such an agreement is set down.
Contract
The writing or document containing such an agreement.
Treaty
(Archaic) Negotiation for the purpose of reaching an agreement.
Contract
The branch of law dealing with formal agreements between parties.
Treaty
A contract or agreement.
Contract
Marriage as a formal agreement; betrothal.
Treaty
An entreaty.
Contract
The last and highest bid of a suit in one hand in bridge.
Treaty
A formal binding agreement concluded by subjects of international law, namely, states and international organizations; a convention, a pact.
To sign a peace treaty
To write up a treaty touching climate change
Contract
The number of tricks thus bid.
Treaty
(archaic)
Contract
Contract bridge.
Treaty
(uncountable) Chiefly in in treaty: discussions or negotiations in order to reach an agreement.
Contract
A paid assignment to murder someone
Put out a contract on the mobster's life.
Treaty
(countable) Chiefly in private treaty: an agreement or settlement reached following negotiations; a compact, a contract, a covenant.
Contract
To enter into by contract; establish or settle by formal agreement
Contract a marriage.
Treaty
(obsolete)
Contract
To acquire or incur
Contract obligations.
Contract a serious illness.
Treaty
(uncountable) The manner or process of treating someone or something; treatment; also, the manner in which someone or something acts or behaves; behaviour.
Contract
To reduce in size by drawing together; shrink.
Treaty
(uncountable) The addressing or consideration of a subject; discussion, treatment.
Contract
To pull together; wrinkle.
Treaty
(countable) A formal, systematic discourse on some subject; a treatise.
Contract
(Grammar) To shorten (a word or words) by omitting or combining some of the letters or sounds, as do not to don't.
Treaty
(countable) An act of beseeeching or entreating; an entreaty, a plea, a request.
Contract
To enter into or make an agreement
Contract for garbage collection.
Treaty
(transitive) To get into (a specific situation) through a treaty.
Contract
To become reduced in size by or as if by being drawn together
The pupils of the patient's eyes contracted.
Treaty
(intransitive) To enter into a treaty.
Contract
An agreement between two or more parties, to perform a specific job or work order, often temporary or of fixed duration and usually governed by a written agreement.
Marriage is a contract.
Sign a contract
Write up a contract
Read a contract
Countersign a contract
Legally-binding contract
Unwritten contract
Treaty
The act of treating for the adjustment of differences, as for forming an agreement; negotiation.
He cast by treaty and by trainsHer to persuade.
Contract
(legal) An agreement which the law will enforce in some way. A legally binding contract must contain at least one promise, i.e., a commitment or offer, by an offeror to and accepted by an offeree to do something in the future. A contract is thus executory rather than executed.
Treaty
An agreement so made; specifically, an agreement, league, or contract between two or more nations or sovereigns, formally signed by commissioners properly authorized, and solemnly ratified by the several sovereigns, or the supreme power of each state; an agreement between two or more independent states; as, a treaty of peace; a treaty of alliance.
Contract
(legal) The document containing such an agreement.
Treaty
A proposal tending to an agreement.
Contract
(legal) A part of legal studies dealing with laws and jurisdiction related to contracts.
Treaty
A treatise; a tract.
Contract
(bridge) The declarer's undertaking to win the number of tricks bid with a stated suit as trump.
Treaty
A written agreement between two states or sovereigns
Contract
(obsolete) Contracted; affianced; betrothed.
Contract
(obsolete) Not abstract; concrete.
Contract
(ambitransitive) To draw together or nearer; to shorten, narrow, or lessen.
The snail’s body contracted into its shell.
To contract one’s sphere of action
Contract
(grammar) To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one.
The word “cannot” is often contracted into “can’t”.
Contract
(transitive) To enter into a contract with. en
Contract
(transitive) To enter into, with mutual obligations; to make a bargain or covenant for.
Contract
(intransitive) To make an agreement or contract; to covenant; to agree; to bargain.
To contract for carrying the mail
Contract
(transitive) To bring on; to incur; to acquire.
She contracted the habit of smoking in her teens.
To contract a debt
Contract
(transitive) To gain or acquire (an illness).
Contract
To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit.
Contract
To betroth; to affiance.
Contract
To draw together or nearer; to reduce to a less compass; to shorten, narrow, or lessen; as, to contract one's sphere of action.
In all things desuetude doth contract and narrow our faculties.
Contract
To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit.
Thou didst contract and purse thy brow.
Contract
To bring on; to incur; to acquire; as, to contract a habit; to contract a debt; to contract a disease.
Each from each contract new strength and light.
Such behavior we contract by having much conversed with persons of high station.
Contract
To enter into, with mutual obligations; to make a bargain or covenant for.
We have contracted an inviolable amity, peace, and lague with the aforesaid queen.
Many persons . . . had contracted marriage within the degrees of consanguinity . . . prohibited by law.
Contract
To betroth; to affiance.
The truth is, she and I, long since contracted,Are now so sure, that nothing can dissolve us.
Contract
To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one.
Contract
To be drawn together so as to be diminished in size or extent; to shrink; to be reduced in compass or in duration; as, iron contracts in cooling; a rope contracts when wet.
Years contracting to a moment.
Contract
To make an agreement; to covenant; to agree; to bargain; as, to contract for carrying the mail.
Contract
Contracted; as, a contract verb.
Contract
Contracted; affianced; betrothed.
Contract
The agreement of two or more persons, upon a sufficient consideration or cause, to do, or to abstain from doing, some act; an agreement in which a party undertakes to do, or not to do, a particular thing; a formal bargain; a compact; an interchange of legal rights.
Contract
A formal writing which contains the agreement of parties, with the terms and conditions, and which serves as a proof of the obligation.
Contract
The act of formally betrothing a man and woman.
This is the the night of the contract.
Contract
A binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law
Contract
(contract bridge) the highest bid becomes the contract setting the number of tricks that the bidder must make
Contract
A variety of bridge in which the bidder receives points toward game only for the number of tricks he bid
Contract
Enter into a contractual arrangement
Contract
Engage by written agreement;
They signed two new pitchers for the next season
Contract
Squeeze or press together;
She compressed her lips
The spasm contracted the muscle
Contract
Become smaller or draw together;
The fabric shrank
The balloon shrank
Contract
Be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness;
He got AIDS
She came down with pneumonia
She took a chill
Contract
Make smaller;
The heat contracted the woollen garment
Contract
Compress or concentrate;
Congress condensed the three-year plan into a six-month plan
Contract
Make or become more narrow or restricted;
The selection was narrowed
The road narrowed
Contract
Reduce in scope while retaining essential elements;
The manuscript must be shortened
Common Curiosities
Who enforces contracts?
Contracts are enforced by domestic courts or through arbitration within the jurisdiction they were formed.
What is a treaty?
A treaty is a formal agreement under international law between sovereign states or international organizations on matters of mutual interest.
Who enforces treaties?
Treaties are enforced through mutual agreement, international norms, and sometimes international courts or arbitration panels.
What happens if a contract is broken?
Breach of contract can lead to legal action, requiring the breaching party to pay damages or fulfill their obligations.
How are treaties different from contracts?
Treaties are governed by international law and involve states or international entities, whereas contracts are governed by domestic law and involve individual or entity agreements.
What is a contract?
A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties, enforceable by domestic law, outlining mutual obligations.
Do treaties require ratification?
Yes, treaties typically require ratification by the participating states' legislative bodies to become legally binding.
Is consideration required for a contract?
Yes, contracts require consideration, which means each party must offer something of value.
Are all treaties made public?
Most treaties are public, but some may remain confidential due to national security or other reasons.
Can treaties be broken?
Yes, but breaking a treaty can have significant international repercussions, including sanctions or loss of credibility.
Can a treaty change a country's laws?
While a treaty can require changes to a country's laws, the specific changes must be enacted through the country's legislative process.
Can a contract be made verbally?
Yes, contracts can be verbal unless the law requires a written agreement for certain types of transactions.
What is the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties?
It's an international agreement providing the legal framework for the creation, execution, and interpretation of treaties.
What role do lawyers play in contracts?
Lawyers can draft, review, and advise on contract terms to ensure legal compliance and protect their clients' interests.
Can individuals be parties to a treaty?
No, treaties are reserved for sovereign states and international entities.
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Written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
