To become a party to a treaty, a State must express its consent to be bound by the
treaty. Such consent can be expressed in a variety of ways, including through signature
of the treaty by a proper representative of the State.
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Under modern treaty practice,
however, States often express their consent to be bound by a separate act of ratification
that is carried out after signature. For bilateral treaties, this ratification is typically
manifested by the exchange of instruments of ratification. For multilateral treaties, it is
typically manifested by the deposit of an instrument of ratification or accession with a
central depository, such as the United Nations. When a treaty is subject to discretionary
ratification after signature, the signature is referred to as a „simple signature,‟ whereas a
signature that indicates consent to be bound is referred to as a „definitive signature.‟
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