Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent where the agent lacked
authority to legally bind the principal.
The term applies to private contract law, international treaties, and constitutions
in federations such as the United States and Canada.
Private law In contract law, the need for ratification
can arise in two ways: where the agent attempts to bind the principal despite lacking the
authority to do so, and where the principal authorizes the agent to make an agreement,
but reserves the right to approve it.
An example of the first situation is where an employee not normally responsible for procuring
supplies contracts to do so on the employer's behalf.
The employer's choice on discovering the contract is to ratify it or to repudiate it.
The other situation is common in trade union collective bargaining agreements.
The Union authorizes one or more people to negotiate and sign an agreement with management.
A collective bargaining agreement can not become legally binding until the union members
ratify the agreement.
If they do not approve it, the agreement is of no effect, and negotiations resume.
Ratification of an international treaty
The ratification of international treaties is always accomplished by filing instruments
of ratification as provided for in the treaty.
In most democracies, the legislature authorizes the government to ratify treaties through
standard legislative procedures.
United Kingdom In the UK, treaty ratification was a Royal
Prerogative, exercised by Her Majesty on the advice of her Government.
But, by a convention called the Ponsonby Rule, treaties were usually placed before parliament
for 21 days before ratification.
This was put onto a statutory footing by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.
United States In the US, the treaty power is a coordinated
effort between the Executive branch and the Senate.
The President may form and negotiate, but the treaty must be advised and consented to
by a two-thirds vote in the Senate.
Only after the Senate approves the treaty can the President ratify it.
Once a treaty is ratified, it becomes binding on all the states under the Supremacy Clause.
While the United States House of Representatives does not vote on it at all, the requirement
for Senate advice and consent to ratification makes it considerably more difficult in the
US than in other democratic republics to rally enough political support for international
treaties.
Also, if implementation of the treaty requires the expenditure of funds, the House of Representatives
may be able to block, or at least impede, such implementation by refusing to vote for
the appropriation of the necessary funds.
In the US, the President usually submits a treaty to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
along with an accompanying resolution of ratification or accession.
If the treaty and resolution receive favorable committee consideration the treaty is then
forwarded to the floor of the full U.S. Senate for such a vote.
The treaty or legislation does not apply until it has been ratified.
A multilateral agreement may provide that it will take effect upon its ratification
by less than all of the signatories.
Even though such a treaty takes effect, it does not apply to signatories that have not
ratified it.
Accession has the same legal effect as ratification.
Accession is a synonym for ratification for treaties already negotiated and signed by
other states.
An example of a treaty to which the U.S. Senate did not advise and consent to ratification
is the Treaty of Versailles, which was part of the resolution of the First World War.
Australia In Australia, power to enter into treaties
is an executive power within Section 61 of the Australian Constitution.
Thus the Australian Federal Government may enter into a binding treaty without seeking
parliamentary approval.
However, implementation of treaties does require legislation by Federal parliament, following
Section 51(xxix) of the Australian Constitution and signed by the Governor-General of Australia.
Japan In Japan, in principle both houses of the
parliament must approve the treaty for ratification.
In the event the Upper House rejects a treaty approved by the Lower House and a joint committee
of both houses cannot come to agreement on amendments to the original text of the treaty,
or the Upper House fails to decide on a treaty for more than thirty days, by the Constitutional
supremacy of the House of Representatives the decision by the Lower House will be regarded
as the vote of the National Diet approving the ratification.
The approved treaty will then be promulgated into law by the Constitutional act of the
Emperor.
Ratification of a constitution Federations usually require the support of
both the federal government and some given percentage of the constituent governments
for amendments to the federal constitution to take effect.
Ratification in the United States Constitution
Article Seven of the constitution of the United States describes the process by which the
entire document was to become effective.
It required that conventions of nine of the thirteen original States ratify the constitution.
If fewer than thirteen states ratified document, it would become effective only among the states
ratifying it.
New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify, doing so on June 21, 1788, but, as a practical
matter, it was decided to delay implementation of the new government until New York and Virginia
could be persuaded to ratify.
Congress intended that New York City should be the first capital, and that George Washington,
of Mount Vernon, Virginia, should be the first President, and both of those things would
have been somewhat awkward if either New York or Virginia were not part of the new government.
Ratification by those states was secured, and the government under the Constitution
began on March 4, 1789.
For subsequent amendments, Article Five describes the process of a potential amendment's adoption.
Proposals to adopt an amendment may be called either by a two-thirds vote by both houses
of Congress or by a national convention as a result of resolutions adopted by two-thirds
of the states' legislatures.
For an amendment to be adopted, three-quarters of the states must ratify the amendment either
by a vote of approval in each state's legislature or by state ratifying conventions – Congress
may specify which method must be used to ratify the amendment.
Congress may also set a deadline by which the threshold for adoption must be met.
See also Constitutional amendment
Veto Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
References