Article 41

ENTRY INTO FORCE

1. This Convention shall come into force on the thirtieth day following the date on which the fortieth instrument of ratification or accession is deposited in accordance with article 40.

2. In respect of any other State depositing an instrument of ratification or accession after the date of deposit of the said fortieth instrument, this Convention shall come into force on the thirtieth day after the deposit by that State of its instrument of ratification or accession.

Commentary

1. These two articles, regulating the procedure by which States may become Parties to the Single Convention and the conditions of its coming into force, are standard provisions very similar to those which can be found in a number of other treaties.1

2. Attention may however be drawn to a discrepancy between the English and Spanish texts of paragraphs 1 and 2 of article 41 on the one hand, and their French versions on the other hand. The French text uses in these paragraphs the phrase "a !'expiration du trentieme jour", while the English text employs in the corresponding places the words "on the thirtieth day" and the Spanish text the words "el trigesimo dia". Under the French text the date of coming into force pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 would thus be one day later than under the English and Spanish versions. This difference is, however, of little practical importance since Parties are under article 4, introductory paragraph and paragraph (a), undoubtedly allowed a reasonable time for adopting the legislative and administrative measures to carry out the provisions of the Convention. 2

3. It will also be noted that the French text of article 40, paragraph 1 uses the singular "membre" in the phrase "membre d'une institution specialisee" instead of the plural "membres".

4. It must be kept in mind that under article 40, paragraph 1 the Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts of the Single Convention are "equally authentic". Such a provision is rather common in treaties concluded under the auspices of the United Nations.

1 See document ST/LEG/SER.D/1, annex; for similar provisions in a recent treaty, see articles 81-85 of the Vienna Convention of 1969 on the Law of Treaties, document A/CONF.39/27; see also articles 25 and 26 of the Convention on Psychotropic Drugs, done at Vienna on 21 February 1971, document E/CONF.58/6.

2 The Secretary-General based himself on the English and Spanish versions when determining 13 December 1964 as date of the coming into force of the Single Convention pursuant to article 41, para. 1; 13 December 1964 is the thirtieth day following 13 November 1964, on which Kenya deposited its instrument of accession as the fortieth of the States which deposited instruments of ratification or accession in accordance with article 40; document ST/LEG/SER./D/4, pp. 145-146.