The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (CWC), which entered into force on 29 April 1997, bans an entire category of weapons of mass destruction. The CWC has now been in force for almost twenty years and having 190 States Parties as at July 2014, has almost achieved universal adherence. To achieve its objectives, the CWC established the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). This third edition of 'OPCW: The Legal Texts' brings together the text of the Convention, the interpretative decisions and understandings reached by the organs of the OPCW, policies, rules of procedure, regulations, the conclusions of the three reviews undertaken by the States Parties of the operation of the Convention and key background texts. The volume provides a comprehensive overview of the Convention regime, as it has developed over the past seventeen years. Useful for national authorities responsible for the operation of the Convention in their countries, governmental and non-governmental entities engaged in disarmament issues, legal advisers, practitioners and academics engaged either in disarmament matters, general public international law and treaty law.

TMC Asser Press co-publication with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), The Hague.

The Chemical Weapons Convention is one of the cornerstone disarmament and arms control agreements, and the only global and comprehensive disarmament treaty that is being verified by an international agency. This Commentary assesses the provisions of the Convention and its implementation, with cross-cutting chapters providing a broader analysis.

This volume features a selection of the best scholarship on international law as it is relevant to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The essays consider the nonproliferation legal regime as a normative system and offer a more discrete consideration of international law in each weapons of mass destruction technology area. The role, authority and track record of the UN Security Council in this area are also evaluated.

The most complex and comprehensive disarmament treaty ever to be adopted, the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is intended to provide robust assurance that chemical weapons will not be developed, produced, stockpiled, used or transferred. To implement and enforce the CWC and verify the ongoing elimination of declared chemical weapons production capacity and stockpiles, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) inspects military and industrial sites in dozens of countries. OPCW membership now embraces over 95 percent of the world's population and 98 percent of the relevant global chemical industry. This book provides an in-depth explanation of the notable achievements of the CWC in a relatively short span since 1997, and examines the issues that must be addressed to ensure the regime's continuing vitality in the context of dynamic changes in the security environment, and in science, industry and technology. Featuring contributions from government and OPCW officials and experts in international law, industry, government and media, this volume highlights the challenges in implementation and assesses and recommends the means necessary to preserve the global ban on chemical weapons perpetually.

This public domain book is an open and compatible implementation of the Uniform System of Citation.

The proliferation and sophistication of riot control chemicals mean that all parties need to understand the responsible use and effects of such compounds. This book provides practical information on the history, chemistry, and biology of riot control agents and discusses their biological actions, risk assessment issues, and recent technical develop