acceding

Acceding is the act of giving consent or agreement to a proposal or demand. It is also used in international law to describe a state joining a treaty after the treaty has been opened for signature. When a state accedes, it submits an instrument of accession to the treaty’s depositary, and upon acceptance the state becomes a party to the treaty. Accession allows states that did not participate in the treaty’s negotiation or signing to be bound by its terms.

In treaty practice, accession is distinct from ratification. Ratification is the domestic step by which a state that signed the treaty expresses consent to be bound. Accession, by contrast, is used by states that did not sign but later wish to be bound. The treaty may specify when its provisions become effective for an acceding state, which can differ from the dates applicable to original parties.

The term accede also appears outside treaty law. It can mean to agree to a proposal or to join an organization, alliance, or movement. In monarchic contexts, to accede can mean to assume a throne or office, as in “to accede to the throne.”

Etymology derives from Latin accedere, meaning to approach or to yield. The noun form is accession, referring to the act or process of acceding.