The Relationship between the NPT and the TPNW

Abstract

Great care was taken during the negotiations of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) to secure its full compatibility with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). This goal has been accomplished. The TPNW strengthens and supports the NPT which has always anticipated further legal norms to achieve its purposes. Like in the other pillars of the NPT, reaching the objective of the disarmament pillar–a world free of nuclear weapons–will not be feasible without further legal instruments. For the full implementation of Article VI of the NPT, the creation of a legally binding norm to prohibit nuclear weapons is indispensable. The adoption of the TPNW on 7 July 2017 brought about this legal instrument.