The Protocol on the Joint Consultative Group (the Protocol) consists of a Preamble and 12 paragraphs.

Pursuant to paragraph 7 of Article XVI of the Treaty, the Protocol establishes procedures "and other provisions" (pertaining chiefly to provisional application) for the Joint Consultative Group. Pursuant to paragraph 3 of Article I of the Treaty, the Protocol is deemed to be an integral part of the Treaty.

The Preamble confirms that the States Parties have agreed on procedures and other provisions relating to the Joint Consultative Group.

Paragraph 1 of the Protocol provides that the Joint Consultative Group is to be composed of representatives designated by each State Party and that, to the extent deemed necessary by any State Party, alternate representatives, advisers and experts of that State Party may also take part in the proceedings of the Joint Consultative Group. In this regard, the use of alternates, advisers, and experts is optional; a State Party need not utilize them in the proceedings of the Joint Consultative Group, but has the choice of doing so if he wishes.

Paragraph 2 of the Protocol provides that the first session of the Joint Consultative Group, to be chaired by the Norwegian representative, must open no later than 60 days after the signing of the Treaty (i.e., no later than 60 days after November 19, 1990). In fact, the first session was opened on November 26, 1990.

Paragraph 3 of the Protocol provides that the Joint Consultative Group must meet for two regular sessions each year. It should be noted that purpose of paragraph 3 is twofold. On the one hand, by requiring the Joint Consultative Group to meet twice a year, paragraph 3 makes clear that the Group was not intended to be in session on a permanent basis. This point is particularly pertinent when viewed in conjunction with paragraph 5 below, which generally limits sessions of the Joint Consultative Group to a duration of four weeks. On the other hand, it was intended that the Joint Consultative Group meet regularly in order to establish a predictable and efficient basis for handling implementation of the Treaty.

Paragraph 4 of the Protocol provides that additional sessions of the Joint Consultative Group must be convened by the Chairman of the Joint Consultative Group at the request of one or more States Parties. Paragraph 4 also provides that the Chairman is required to inform all other States Parties of such a request, and such additional sessions are to open no later than 15 days after the Chairman receives such a request.

The principal purpose of paragraph 4 is to enable States Parties to meet within the framework of the Joint Consultative Group on an emergency basis without having to wait for the next regularly scheduled session. The type of emergency that the negotiators contemplated in this regard primarily concerned issues of States Parties compliance with the Treaty. It is for this reason that it was deemed necessary that such additional (extraordinary) sessions of the Joint Consultative Group could be requested by any single State Party.

Paragraph 5 of the Protocol provides that, unless the Joint Consultative Group decides otherwise, its sessions shall last no longer than four weeks. In this regard, the principal purpose of limiting sessions of the Joint Consultative Group to four weeks' duration is to save on operating costs.

Paragraph 6 of the Protocol provides that the States Parties are to assume the Chairmanship of the Joint Consultative Group in rotation, with the order of rotation being alphabetical order as rendered in the French language.

Paragraph 7 of the Protocol provides that, unless it decides otherwise, the Joint Consultative Group shall meet in Vienna. It should be noted that the date all sessions of the Joint Consultative Group have been held in Vienna. It is not contemplated at present that the Joint Consultative Group will meet in a location other than Vienna, although paragraph 7 makes clear that the Joint Consultative Group could elect to do so.

Paragraph 8 of the Protocol provides that, at meetings of the Joint Consultative Group, representatives are to be seated in alphabetical order of the States Parties rendered in the French language.

Paragraph 9 of the Protocol provides that the official languages of the Joint Consultative Group shall be English, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish. In this regard, the six languages listed in paragraph 9 correspond to the official languages of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and to the languages of the authentic texts of the Treaty so designated in Article XXIII of the Treaty.

Paragraph 10 of the Protocol provides that the proceedings of the Joint Consultative Group shall be confidential, unless the Joint Consultative Group decides otherwise. In this regard, the use of the word "confidential" in paragraph 10 is intended to make clear that the deliberations of the Joint Consultative may not consensus to do so among the 22 States Parties. This requirement is consistent with other provisions in the Treaty, such as subparagraph 2(G) of Article XVI, that restrict the distribution of potentially sensitive information related to the implementation of the Treaty. On the other hand, the word "confidential" is not intended to indicate or imply that the deliberations of the Joint Consultative Group are automatically to be considered "CONFIDENTIAL" for United States security classification purposes.

Paragraph 11 provides that the scale of distribution for the common expenses associated with the operation of the Joint Consultative Group will be applied, unless otherwise decided by the Group, as follows:

It should be noted that the scale of costs set forth in paragraph 11 generally corresponds to the distribution of costs used during the CFE Mandate negotiation and during the negotiation of the Treaty. The only change to the scale of distribution for the Joint Consultative Group was to increase proportionally the percentages owed by the 22 States Parties in order to reflect the absence of contributions from the now defunct German Democratic Republic.

Paragraph 12 provides that, during the period that the Protocol is applied provisionally in accordance with the Protocol on Provisional Application, the Joint Consultative Group shall:

It should be noted that the principal purpose of paragraph 12 is to delineate clearly the scope of operations of the Joint Consultative Group between the signing and entry into force of the Treaty when certain of the Treaty's provisions are being provisionally applied. Paragraph 12 makes clear that the principal activities of the Joint Consultative Group during the period of provisional application are to deal with administrative issues as well as any problems concerning the provisional application of the Treaty. In this regard, the Joint Consultative Group is empowered to meet between Treaty signature and entry into force because the Protocol and certain provisions of Article XVI of the Treaty are provisionally applied pursuant to subparagraph l(E) of the Protocol on Provisional Application.

There are several other points worth noting about paragraph 12. First, subparagraph (A) makes clear that the Joint Consultative Group is mandated to "get its house in order" prior to entry into force of the Treaty by working out important administrative details, such as working methods and the distribution of costs for conferences.

Second, subparagraph (B) provides that each State Party has the right to raise issues concerning provisions that have been specifically applied provisionally pursuant to the Protocol on Provisional Application. Most of these provisions relate to the exchange of information among the States Parties between signature of the Treaty and its entry into force.

Third, there are two other issues that, while not mentioned in paragraph 12, are specified in other parts of the Treaty as duties the Joint Consultative Group should undertake during the period of provisional application. Subparagraph l(E) of the Protocol on Provisional Application provides that subparagraph 2(G) of Article XVI of the Treaty is provisionally applied. This means that the Joint Consultative Group is empowered to consider work out, prior to entry into force, appropriate measures to ensure that information obtained through exchanges of information among the States Parties or as a result of inspections is used solely for the purposes of the Treaty. In addition, subparagraph l(J) of the Protocol on Provisional Application provides, in part, that Section XIII of the Protocol on Information Exchange is to be provisionally applied. In this regard, Section XIII of that Protocol requires the Joint Consultative Group to develop, prior to entry into force of the Treaty, a document that lists all notifications relating to the Treaty. Also, paragraph 3 of Section XII of the Protocol on Inspection provides that the Joint Consultative Group shall agree, prior to entry into force of the Treaty, on the formats to be used for inspection reports.

Finally, the Joint Consultative Group is not empowered to meet indefinitely in the event that the Treaty does not enter into force in a timely manner. Paragraph 3 of the Protocol on Provisional Application provides that the Protocol will be provisionally applied for no more than 12 months. This means that the operations of the Joint Consultative Group will be terminated on November 18, 1991, unless the Treaty enters into force prior to that time or the 22 States Parties agree to extend the period of provisional application.

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The Protocol on Provisional Application (the Protocol) consists of a Preamble and three paragraphs.

The purpose of the Protocol is to put into effect upon signature of the Treaty, on a temporary basis, certain provisions of the Treaty. Such provisional application confers legal rights and obligations upon the States Parties. On the one hand, provisional application requires the States Parties to comply with the provisions so applied to the strict letter of the law even though the Treaty as a whole has not yet entered into force. On the other hand, such provisional application also enables States Parties to take full advantage of the benefits offered by such provisionally applied provisions. In short, provisional application means that provisions so applied are legally enforceable upon signature of the Treaty rather than upon its entry into force.

The juridical basis for provisional application stems from customary international law, and, in particular, article 25 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (the Convention). Article 25 provides, in pertinent part, that: "1. A treaty or a part of a treaty is applied provisionally pending its entry into force if. (a) the treaty itself so provides. . . ." In this regard, paragraph 3 of Article I of the Treaty makes clear that the Protocol constitutes an integral part of the Treaty. Thus, the Protocol fulfills the legal standard set forth in article 25(l)(a) of the Convention.

Most of the provisions applied provisionally pursuant to the Protocol relate to the exchange of information among the States Parties or the operation of the Joint Consultative Group. Put another way, none of the provisions applied provisionally requires the States Parties to destroy, reduce or otherwise limit their conventional armaments and equipment prior to the entry into force of the Treaty.

Pursuant to paragraph 3 of Article I of the Treaty, the Protocol is deemed to be an integral part of the Treaty.

The Preamble of the Protocol provides that, in order to promote the implementation of the Treaty, the States Parties have agreed to the provisional application of certain provisions of the Treaty.

Paragraph I of the Protocol lists those provisions of the Treaty and its protocols that are being provisionally applied. The chapeau of paragraph 1 provides that the provisional application of the listed provisions shall not be to the detriment of the provisions of Article XXII of the Treaty. In this regard, paragraph 2 of Article XXII states that the Treaty shall enter into force 10 days after instruments of ratification have been deposited by all the States Parties listed in the Preamble of the Treaty. The purpose of the chapeau is to make clear that the provisional application of the listed provisions in no way undercuts paragraph 2 of Article XXII or affects the ratification and entry into force of the Treaty as a whole.

The provisions that are to be applied provisionally are set forth in subparagraphs (A) through (M) of paragraph 1. Note that since the Protocol came into effect upon signature of the Treaty, the following provisions have been applied provisionally since November 19, 1990.

Subparagraph (A) of paragraph 1 of the Protocol provides that paragraphs 2, 3, and 4 of Article VII of the Treaty are to be applied provisionally. In this regard, Article VII concerns maximum levels for holdings. Paragraph 2 of that Article provides that each State Party shall notify, at the time of signature of the Treaty, all other States Parties of its maximum levels for holdings (which shall remain valid until a subsequent notification is given pursuant to paragraph 3 of the Article). Since paragraph 2 of Article VII provides that notifications must be provided by the States Parties at the time of signature of the Treaty, it was applied provisionally.

Paragraph 3 of Article VII of the Treaty establishes the right of each State Party to change its initially notified maximum levels of holdings (i.e., the maximum levels notified at signature pursuant to paragraph 2). Paragraph 3 of Article VII was applied provisionally so that States Parties could have the option of adjusting their maximum levels for holdings prior to entry into force of the Treaty.

Paragraph 4 of Article VII of the Treaty provides that notifications of maximum levels for armored combat vehicles also must include the maximum levels for the subcategories of armored infantry fighting vehicles and heavy armament combat vehicles. Paragraph 4 of Article VII was provisionally applied in order to ensure that notifications, at signature of the Treaty and thereafter prior to entry into force, of maximum levels for holdings of armored combat vehicles would take the above requirements into account.

Subparagraph (B) of paragraph 1 of the Protocol provides that paragraphs 5, 6, and 8 of Article VIII of the Treaty are to be applied provisionally. In this regard, Article VIII of the Treaty concerns the reduction of conventional armaments and equipment limited by the Treaty. Paragraph 5 of Article VIII provides that the Treaty-limited armaments and equipment to be reduced must have been declared present within the area of application pursuant to the exchange of information that took place at the initialing of the Treaty on November 18, 1990. Paragraph 5 was applied provisionally in order to ensure that Treaty-limited armaments and equipment to be reduced were present within the area of application beginning at Treaty signature. This in turn prevents a State Party from bringing old and decrepit armaments and equipment into the area of application between the signature and entry into force of the Treaty and then reducing them in order to meet its reduction liability.

Paragraph 6 of Article VIII provides that, no later than 30 days after entry into force of the Treaty, each State Party must provide notification to all other States Parties of its reduction liability. Since paragraph 6 will only be applicable 30 days after entry into force of the Treaty, it was provisionally applied in error.

Paragraph 8 of Article VIII of the Treaty provides that States Parties may adjust their reduction liability under certain circumstances (i.e., through "cascading" or the transfer of Treaty-limited armaments and equipment within groups). Paragraph 8 was provisionally applied in order to give States Parties the right to cascade Treaty-limited armaments and equipment within groups prior to entry into force of the Treaty. Thus, groups are able to internally "shift" armaments and equipment prior to entry into force so as to maximize the opportunity for modernization and minimize the impact of reduction liability on individual States Parties.

Subparagraph (C) of paragraph 1 of the Protocol provides that Article IX of the Treaty is to be applied provisionally. In this regard, Article IX provides for the removal by decommissioning of conventional armaments and equipment limited by the Treaty from service with States Parties' conventional armed forces. Provisional application of Article IX permits each State Party to decommission armaments and equipment prior to entry into force, but at the same time limits such decommissioning by a State Party to the levels specified in subparagraph l(B) of the Article (i.e., no more than 250 items or one percent of its Treaty-limited armaments and equipment, whichever is greater, at any one time).

Subparagraph (D) of paragraph 1 of the Protocol provides that Article XIII of the Treaty is to be provisionally applied. In this regard, Article XIII sets forth the basic obligations for notifications and information exchanges among States Parties required by the Treaty and in particular by the Protocol on Information Exchange and its Annex on Format. Article XIII was applied provisionally in order to ensure that the States Parties are obligated to provide information prior to entry into force as required by the Treaty (and in particular the Protocol in Information Exchange), and that such information is transmitted in accordance with Article XVII of the Treaty (i.e., through official channels).

Subparagraph (E) of paragraph 1 of the Protocol provides that paragraphs 1, 2(F), 2(G), 4, 6, and 7 of Article XVI of the Treaty are to be provisionally applied. In this regard, Article XVI concerns the Joint Consultative Group. Paragraph 1 of Article XVI provides that, in order to promote the objectives and implementation of the provisions of the Treaty, the States Parties agree to establish immediately a Joint Consultative Group. Paragraph 1 was applied provisionally so that the Joint Consultative Group could begin operations immediately after signature of the Treaty (i.e., immediately after November 19, 1990). The first session of the Joint Consultative Group, in fact, opened on November 26, 1990.

Paragraph 2 of Article XVI sets forth the tasks on which the States Parties shall concentrate in the Joint Consultative Group once the Treaty enters into force. Only two of the nine tasks specified in paragraph 2, i.e., in subparagraphs 2(F) and 2(G), are provisionally applied. Significantly, this means that the other tasks listed in paragraph 2 of Article XVI are not subjects for action by the Joint Consultative Group while the Treaty is pending entry into force. The fact that the Joint Consultative Group has a limited charter during the period of provisional application also is emphasized in paragraph 12 of the Protocol on the Joint Consultative Group.

Subparagraph 2(F) of Article XVI provides that the Joint Consultative Group will work out or revise, as necessary, rules of procedure, working methods, the scale of distribution of expenses of the Joint Consultative Group and of conferences convened under the Treaty and the distribution of costs of inspections between or among States Parties. Subparagraph 2(F) is applied provisionally in order to provide the Joint Consultative Group with the authority to settle important administrative matters immediately after signature of the Treaty without waiting for the entry into force of the Treaty.

Subparagraph 2(G) of Article XVI provides that the Joint Consultative Group will consider and work out appropriate measures to ensure that information obtained through exchanges of information among the States Parties or as a result of inspections pursuant to the Treaty is used solely for the purposes of the Treaty, taking into account the particular requirements of each State Party in respect of safeguarding information which that State Party specifies as being sensitive. Subparagraph 2(G) is applied provisionally so that the Joint Consultative Group may address, prior to entry into force, the protection of information that is to be exchanged among the States Parties upon entry into force of the Treaty and thereafter. Note that while subparagraph 2(G) is not listed in paragraph 12 of the Protocol on the Joint Consultative Group as one of the tasks for the Joint Consultative Group to undertake during the period of provisional application, because it is so listed in the Protocol on Provisional Application the Joint Consultative Group does have the legal authority to carry out the task listed in subparagraph 2(G) of Article XVI.

Paragraphs 4, 6, and 7 of Article XVI establish important administrative procedures (e.g., the "consensus rule") that enable the Joint Consultative Group to function effectively while carrying out the substantive tasks assigned to it pursuant to subparagraphs 2(F) and 2(G) of Article XVI of the Treaty, paragraph 12 of the Protocol on the Joint Consultative Group, and Section XIII of the Protocol on Information Exchange. It is for this reason that these three provisions are provisionally applied.

Subparagraph (F) of paragraph 1 of the Protocol provides that Article XVII of the Treaty is to be provisionally applied. In this regard, Article XVII provides that the States Parties shall transmit information and notifications required by the Treaty in written form. Article XVII also provides that the States Parties must use diplomatic channels or other official channels designated by them, including, in particular, a communications network to be established by a separate arrangement. Article XVII is provisionally applied in order to ensure that official notifications and information exchanges required by the Treaty during the period of provisional application are accomplished in an official and expeditious manner.

Subparagraph (G) of paragraph 1 of the Protocol provides that Article XVIII of the Treaty is to be provisionally applied. In this regard, Article XVIII provides that the States Parties, after signature of the Treaty, shall continue the negotiations on conventional armed forces with the same Mandate and with the goal of building on the Treaty. Article XVIII, which itself states that it applies after signature of the Treaty, is provisionally applied in order to enable the States Parties to continue the CFE IA negotiations without having to await the entry into force of the Treaty. The follow-on negotiation was opened on November 26, 1990.

Subparagraph (H) of paragraph I of the Protocol provides that paragraph 2 of Article XXI of the Treaty is to be provisionally applied. In this regard, paragraph 2 of Article XXI provides that an extraordinary conference of the States Parties must be convened if requested by any State Party which considers that exceptional circumstances relating to the Treaty have arisen, in particular, in the event that a State Party has announced its intention to leave its group of States Parties or to join the other group of States Parties. Paragraph 2 of Article XXI is applied provisionally so that the States Parties may have the right to convene an extraordinary conference during the period of provisional application, particularly if a State Party wishes to leave its group of States Parties prior to entry into force of the Treaty.

Subparagraph (I) of paragraph I of the Protocol provides that Sections III and IV of the Protocol on Existing Types are to be applied provisionally. In this regard, Section III sets forth the procedures concerning the photographs and technical data that are to be provided for each existing type of conventional armaments and equipment listed in Sections I and II of the Protocol on Existing Types. The photographs and technical data for the existing types listed in the Protocol on Existing Types were exchanged among the States Parties, in accordance with Section III, on November 18, 1990, in Vienna. Section IV of the Protocol on Existing Types also requires that photographs and technical data for new types of conventional armaments and equipment (and for new models or versions of existing types) must be provided in accordance with Section III. Section III of the Protocol on Existing Types was provision- ally applied in order to ensure that all States Parties complied with the procedures for providing photographs and technical data for the existing types listed in Sections I and II at Treaty signature and anytime thereafter prior to entry into force of the Treaty.

Section IV of the Protocol on Existing Types sets forth the procedures for updating the lists of existing types in Sections I and II of that Protocol. Such updating is required by paragraph 2 of Article II of the Treaty. Section IV also sets forth the procedures for notifying all other States Parties of such updates. The principal purpose of Section IV is to ensure that the Protocol on Existing Types remains valid over time by enabling it to evolve to reflect changes in the conventional armaments and equipment held in the armed forces of the States Parties. Section IV of the Protocol on Existing Types was provisionally applied in order to ensure that all States Parties complied, between the Treaty's signature and its entry into force, with the procedures in paragraphs 3 and 4 of that Section for updating the lists of existing types and notifying such updates to all States Parties. Put another way, Section IV was applied provisionally in order to give the States Parties the capability to update the existing types lists prior to entry into force of the Treaty.

Subparagraph (J) of paragraph 1 of the Protocol provides that Sections VII, XII, and XIII of the Protocol on Information Exchange are to be applied provisionally. In this regard, paragraph 1 of Section VII of the Protocol on Information Exchange provides the timetable for the provision of information pursuant to Sections I through V of that Protocol. Subparagraph (A) of paragraph 1 of Section VII states that the States Parties must provide the required information upon signature of the Treaty and also states that, no later than 90 days after the Treaty was signed, States Parties must provide any necessary corrections to the information they provided upon signature. Section VII is provisionally applied in order to ensure compliance with the information exchange obligations set forth in Section VII(l)(A) of the Protocol on Information Exchange.

Section XII of the Protocol on Information Exchange provides, in pertinent part, that each State Party must provide to all other State Parties the information specified in that Protocol in accordance with the procedures set forth in Article XVII of the Treaty (information and notifications) and the Annex on Format to the Protocol on Information Exchange. Section XII is applied provisionally in order to ensure that information provided pursuant to that Protocol upon, and subsequent to, signature of the Treaty adheres to the specifications in the Annex on Format.

Section XIII of the Protocol on Information Exchange provides that after signature of the Treaty, the Joint Consultative Group shall develop a document relating to those notifications required by the Treaty. Section XIII is provisionally applied in order to make clear that the Joint Consultative Group has the necessary authority to develop such a notification document while entry into force of the Treaty is pending.

Subparagraph (K) of paragraph 1 of the Protocol provides that the following provisions of the Protocol on Inspection are to be applied provisionally: subparagraph (A) of paragraph 24 of Section II and paragraphs 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 of Section III. In this regard, paragraph 24 of Section II of the Protocol on Inspection sets forth the substantive provisions relating to active inspection quotas. The active inspection quota represents the total number of declared site and challenge inspections that each State Party is to be entitled to conduct on the territories of other States Parties within the area of application within a specified time period. The allocation of active quotas for each State Party is handled within each group of State Parties. Subparagraph (A) of paragraph 24 requires each State Party to notify all other State Parties, no later than 120 days after signature of the Treaty, of its active inspection quota for the baseline validation inspection period (i.e., the specified time period consisting of the first 120 days following entry into force of the Treaty). Subparagraph 24(A) was applied provisionally in order to ensure that the States Parties were legally obligated to comply with this active inspection quota notification requirement while entry into force of the Treaty was still pending.

Section III of the Protocol on Inspections concerns pre-inspection requirements. More specifically, paragraphs 3 through 5 and 7 through 12 of that Section set forth the various rights and obligations of the States Parties with respect to the notification, acceptance or rejection of the proposed inspectors and transport crew members who will carry out inspections pursuant to the Protocol on Inspection. These provisions are provisionally applied in order to ensure that the States Parties are legally obligated to comply with the requirements in those provisions while the Treaty is pending entry into force.

Subparagraph (L) of paragraph 1 of the Protocol provides that the Protocol on the Joint Consultative Group is to be applied provisionally. In this regard, the Protocol on the Joint Consultative Group establishes administrative procedures and other provisions (pertaining chiefly to provisional application) for the Joint Consultative Group. In particular, paragraph 12 of that Protocol sets forth the principal part of the charter of the Joint Consultative Group while entry into force of the Treaty is pending. The Protocol on the Joint Consultative Group is provisionally applied in order to enable the Joint Consultative Group to function effectively while carrying out the substantive tasks assigned to it pursuant to subparagraphs 2(F) and 2(G) of Article XVI of the Treaty, paragraph 12 of the Protocol on the Joint Consultative Group, and Section XIII of the Protocol on Information Exchange while entry into force of the Treaty is pending.

Subparagraph (M) of paragraph 1 of the Protocol provides that Section IX of the Protocol on Reduction is to be applied provisionally. In this regard, Section IX provides that each State Party has the right to reduce its reduction liability in the event that conventional armaments and equipment limited by the Treaty are destroyed by accident. Section IX is applied provisionally in order to take into account those Treaty-limited armaments and equipment that are accidentally destroyed prior to entry into force. Significantly, Section IX of the Protocol on Reduction is the only provision in the Treaty that gives credit for the reduction of Treaty-limited armaments and equipment carried out by States Parties prior to the entry into force of the Treaty.

It should also be noted that paragraph 3 of Section XII of the Protocol on Inspection provides that the Joint Consultative Group shall, prior to the entry into force of the Treaty, agree to standardized formats for inspection reports. However, this particular task was not provisionally applied pursuant to the Protocol. As a result, a State Party could argue that the Joint Consultative Group is not authorized to carry out this task while the Treaty is pending entry into force. On the other hand, since inspections will start immediately upon entry into force of the Treaty, it is imperative that such standardized inspection reports be agreed among the States Parties prior to the Treaty's entry into force.

Paragraph 2 of the Protocol provides that the States Parties shall provisionally apply the provisions listed in paragraph 1 of the Protocol in light of and in conformity with the other provisions of the Treaty. Given that the entire Treaty was not provisionally applied, the purpose of paragraph 2 is to ensure that those provisions that are so applied are read in the context of the rest of the Treaty and are not interpreted or executed in an idiosyncratic or chaotic manner.

Paragraph 3 of the Protocol provides that the Protocol shall enter into force at the signature of the Treaty and will remain in force for 12 months, but shall terminate earlier if.

Thus, if one of the above situations does not occur, the Protocol will automatically terminate 12 months from signature of the Treaty (i.e., on November 18, 1991). In this regard, the States Parties, in order to extend the Protocol, will have to do so before the 12-month period expires since there is no provision providing for the reinstatement of the Protocol once it has terminated.

The principal purpose of paragraph 3 of the Protocol on Provisional Application is to place a time limit on the provisional application of the Treaty (and thus, in particular, on the operations of the Joint Consultative Group). Several States Parties feared that, without such a time limit, the Treaty and the Joint Consultative Group could take on lives of their own even if the Treaty never entered into force.

⁴ Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, done at Vienna on April 18, 1961, 23 UST 3227, 500 UNTS 95. The United States is a party to the Vienna Convention.

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