§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if there is any precedent for a verbal agreement accepted informally by representatives of EC member states without an agreed text being described as a treaty.
§ Mrs. ChalkerOn the assumption that the hon. Member is referring to the 1984 intergovernmental agreement, the draft text for adoption was before the representatives of the member states meeting within the Council in a written form and the text as adopted appears in written form in the Council minutes. Agreement to that text was expressed orally. Article 11 of the Vienna convention on the law of treaties provides that the consent of a state to be bound by a treaty
may be expressed by signature, exchange of instruments constituting a Treaty, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession or by any other means if so agreed".My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has previously referred the hon. Member to precedents, on 12 June 1986 at column 287.