A bilateral agreement is an agreement established by two parties, generally with reciprocal obligations.
In order to know the meaning of the term bilateral agreement , the first thing we are going to do is establish the etymological origin of the two words that give it shape:
– Agreement derives from Latin, specifically from the verbal form accordare which can be translated as “agree.”
– Bilateral , on the other hand, also comes from Latin and means “relative to both sides.” It is the result of the sum of several differentiated components: the prefix bi- , which can be translated as “two”; latus , meaning “side”; and the suffix -al , used to indicate membership.
What is a bilateral agreement
An agreement is a pact, an agreement, an alliance or an arrangement established by two or more parties. Bilateral , on the other hand, is that linked to two elements or sides.
A bilateral agreement , in this way, is a commitment assumed by two parties . These agreements generate reciprocal obligations for both signatories, which can be punished in case of non-compliance.
The signing of a bilateral agreement usually takes place between two States.
Some examples
It is common for bilateral agreements to be established between two countries to mutually provide certain financial, tax, political or other benefits. For example: a country X establishes a bilateral agreement with a nation Y to sell it cars without paying tariff rates . In return, nation Y gets the same for its computers. In this way , country
Two States can also establish a bilateral agreement so that their respective citizens can enter the other's territory without the need for a visa . Thus, these countries facilitate travel between the two, promoting tourism and business.
In both examples, the agreements are only valid for the signatory countries. Country X that sold cars without tariff rates can only do so under these conditions with the nation with which it signed the bilateral agreement. Regarding the possibility of citizens of a State entering another territory without a visa, it is specified with respect to the country that established the agreement and is not valid with other nations.
Types of bilateral agreements
In addition to all of the above, we can emphasize that there are many types of bilateral agreements. Thus, for example, depending on the subject they cover, they can be economic, humanitarian, political, social, cultural...
However, if the criterion taken into account is the type of obligations established therein for the two countries, they can be divided into two groups: bilateral agreements in the form of a treaty-contract or those that take on the appearance of treaty-law .
Multilateral agreements
In the same way, it should not be overlooked that, usually, when talking about bilateral agreements, multilateral ones also come to mind. The latter, as their name indicates, are those that are characterized because they do not develop between two countries but between more, specifically between three or more.
As a general rule, multilaterals are economic in nature and their objective is to ensure that trade between the signatory nations can be regulated.