Ratifizierte

Ratifizierte is the past participle form commonly encountered in German-language texts, meaning that a treaty or other instrument has been ratifiziert by a state. In international law, ratification is the formal act by which a state expresses its consent to be bound by an international agreement. Typically, after a treaty is negotiated and often signed, ratification requires approval by the state’s legislature or other constitutional procedure, and may also involve executive consent. Once ratified, the instrument obligates the state under international law, with the treaty entering into force for that state either upon ratification or after a specified threshold of ratifying states has been reached.

The process can vary by country: some require parliamentary approval, others rely on executive action alone, and some require a referendum. Ratifications may include reservations or interpretive declarations, which modify but do not nullify the state's obligations.

Ratification is distinct from signature, which merely indicates intent to be bound; a treaty generally becomes binding only after ratification. It is also distinct from accession, where a state joins an existing treaty after it has been opened for signature over time, without having signed earlier. The concept is central to how international agreements become operative and to the domestic constitutional controls that govern a state's consent to international obligations.

In German-language use, ratifiziert/ratifizierte describes the status of a treaty that has completed the ratification process, while Ratifizierung (or Ratifikation) denotes the process or act by which ratification occurs.