El Tratado sobre Distribución de Aguas Internacionales de 1944: evaluación jurídica, percepción social y prospectiva

In this essay, Jaime Collado analyzes the main hypotheses put forward to address physical and socio-economic processes whose full import was not known at the time of negotiating the Treaty on the Distribution of International Waters, although the estimates on which the treaty was originally based have proven to be surprisingly accurate. He then goes on to discuss the legal structure of the treaty, which assigns each country a given volume of water from each river for a specific period of time. This quantification or demarcation of international waters constitutes an official quota and is an imprescriptible, residual right, based on mutual consent. According to Collado, the treaty is a model for the joint management of international waters, particularly as regards the equitable use of water and the planning of actions, given that deadlines are stipulated for the notification and approval or rejection of  proposals. Furthermore, its system of agreements differentiates it from other international accords in that issues can be dealt with as they arise, without the need to amend the treaty or obtain ratification from the senates of both nations. This is because a new agreement has the power to revoke the provisions of a previous one, provided neither of the parties involved objects. As regards social perception of the treaty, the author believes it is important that Mexico raises public awareness not merely as to its content, but as to its spirit and implications, with a view to guaranteeing its legitimacy and ensuring that it continues to be enforced. Jaime Collado concludes that the treaty, which has proven extremely beneficial to both parties, is exemplary in terms of its capacity to adapt to changing circumstances, essentially development in the agricultural sector, because it incorporates instruments that enable it to address new challenges, such as climate change. In view of its status as an historic event, the treaty, he says, could be better worded, but this does not justify attacks on its legal grounding or the making of misinformed statements and unfounded claims