Contracts are not necessarily binding on signatories. Since obligations under international law have traditionally arisen only from the agreement of states, many treaties explicitly allow a state to withdraw as long as it follows certain notification procedures. For example, the Single Convention provides that the treaty expires when the number of parties is less than 40 due to termination. Many contracts explicitly prohibit withdrawal. Article 56 of the Vienna Convention on Treaty Law provides that when a treaty is silent on whether it can be denounced or not, there is a rebuttable presumption that it cannot be denounced unilaterally, unless the IPPC is a contract that prevents the introduction and spread of organisms harmful to plants and plant products and which currently has 177 beneficiaries of the government. IPPC has developed plant health guidelines and serves as a reporting centre and source of information. Seven regional plant protection organizations have been established under the aegis of ipPC. For example, the North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO) consists of the United States, Canada and Mexico, which participate through APHIS, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the Plant Health Directorate. The European and Mediterranean Organization for the Protection of Plants (EPPO) is an intergovernmental organisation that is also responsible, within the framework of the IPPC, for plant health cooperation between 50 countries in the European and Mediterranean region. An essential part of treaty drafting is that the signing of a treaty implies recognition, that the other party is a sovereign state and that the agreement, considered to be under international law, is applicable. Therefore, nations can be very cautious when it comes to qualifying a treaty agreement.

In the United States, for example, interstate agreements are pacts and agreements between states and the federal government or between government authorities are statements of intent. While the Vienna Convention provides for a general dispute resolution mechanism, many contracts define a procedure outside the dispute settlement agreement and alleged infringements. This can be done by a specially convened body, in reference to a court or body set up for this purpose, such as the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Justice or procedures such as the World Trade Organization`s understanding of dispute resolution.