A joint committee is used in

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

to facilitate continued cooperation among states and the implementation of

treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

by establishing a formal

governance Governance is the overall complex system or framework of Process, processes, functions, structures, Social norm, rules, Law, laws and Norms (sociology), norms born out of the Interpersonal relationship, relationships, Social interaction, intera ...

structure. The designation of such governing institutions in international treaties can vary, including names such as mixed commissions, partnership councils or also specialized working groups (e.g., the "Working Group on Motor Vehicles and Parts" supervised by the EU–UK Partnership Council). These governing institutions can be collectively called "joint bodies", which are defined as "

international organizations An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own leg ...

set up through formal written agreement between at least two parties pursuing specified objectives through periodic intergovernmental interactions in a, at least weakly, institutionalized framework." Importantly, joint bodies are typically not supported by independent secretariats, which distinguishes them from

intergovernmental organizations An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own leg ...

. The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, for example, heavily uses joint bodies (such as joint committees) as governance tools in its treaties. Overall, around 300 such joint bodies have been set up by the European Union since 1992 alone, often granting considerable institutional powers to the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

. Prominent examples of joint bodies in EU treaties include: * The

EEA Joint Committee The EEA Joint Committee is an institution of the European Economic Area (EEA). It is composed of representatives of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and the European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational ...

* The

EU-UK Joint Committee The Brexit withdrawal agreement, officially titled Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, is a treaty between the European Uni ...

governing the

Brexit withdrawal agreement The Brexit withdrawal agreement, officially titled Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, is a treaty between the European Uni ...

with United-Kingdom and the EU–UK Partnership Council governing the

EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement The EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) is a free trade agreement signed on 30 December 2020, between the European Union (EU), the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the United Kingdom (UK). It Provisional application (tr ...

* The Joint Committee governing the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement * The CETA Joint Committee governing the

Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA; French: ''accord économique et commercial global'', AECG; German: ''Umfassendes Wirtschafts- und Handelsabkommen'') is a free-trade agreement between Canada and the European Union and its ...

with Canada.

References

See also