signatário

Signatário is a Portuguese noun that designates a person or entity that signs a document, indicating assent or endorsement of its content. It is commonly used in legal, diplomatic, and administrative contexts. A signatário may be a natural person, a company, a government, or another organization that has signed an instrument such as a treaty, contract, petition, or charter. The act of signing signals an intention to be bound by the instrument, but the legal effect depends on the document and applicable law. In international law, signature often represents a preliminary indication of consent; binding force frequently arises only after subsequent steps such as ratification, acceptance, approval, or accession, according to the treaty's provisions. Consequently, a document can have signatários that have not yet become parties.

The feminine form is signatária, and the plural forms are signatários and signatárias. In practice, the term emphasizes the role of signing, rather than simply being a subscriber. It is distinct from assinante, which more generally denotes a person who signs a document without necessarily implying formal commitment. In diplomacy, signatários of a treaty are those states or organizations that have signed the instrument; non-signatories may become parties later by accession. The notion of signatário is therefore practical for identifying which entities took formal steps to endorse a document in its initial stage, and which later joined as parties.