Legally non-binding agreements in terms of international law

Today, the most important document regarding the law of treaties is the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Although the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties defines "treaty" as an "international agreement governed by international law" in essence, the conditions under which an agreement is governed by international law is not regulated within the provisions of the Convention. However, the International Law Commission interprets the expression "governed by international law" to include the element "intention to create rights and obligations under international law". In this context, it cannot be said that in international law every agreement to which states and international organizations are parties is governed by international law and has the quality of a treaty. Agreements that are considered not legally binding by states and international organizations and that do not create legal rights and obligations between their parties are also concluded. Such agreements are referred to as "non-legally binding agreement", "MOU", "gentlemen's agreement", "politically and morally binding agreement" and "soft law" in the doctrine and practices of states. The aim of this study is to reveal the nature of such agreements, their results and the criteria that enable them to be distinguished from treaties. In determining the nature of these agreements, which are considered to be not legally binding, the interpretations of the International Law Commission, the views in the doctrine, international judicial decisions and especially the practices of states and international organizations have been taken into consideration. Keywords Treaty, Legally Non-Binding Agreement, MOU, gentlement's agreement, Politically and Morally Binding Agreement, Soft Law