# The ITER Agreement

> international agreement

**Wikidata**: [Q101069449](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q101069449)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-iter-agreement

## Summary
The ITER Agreement is a formal international treaty signed on November 21, 2006, that established the ITER International Fusion Energy Organization for the joint implementation of the ITER project. It serves as an express agreement between nations under international law, providing the legal framework for global cooperation in fusion energy research.

## Key Facts
- **Official Name:** Agreement on the Establishment of the ITER International Fusion Energy Organization for the Joint Implementation of the ITER Project.
- **Date of Signing:** November 21, 2006.
- **Location of Signing:** Élysée Palace, France.
- **Instance Of:** Treaty (express agreement between nations under international law).
- **Primary Signatories:** Vladimir Travin, Takeshi Iwaya, Xu Guanhua (Minister of Science and Technology of China), Kim Woo Sik, Anil Kakodkar, Raymond L. Orbach (Under Secretary of Energy for Science), and Janez Potočnik (European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science).
- **Ratifying Parties:** European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), Russia, People's Republic of China, South Korea, India, Japan, and the United States.
- **Depositary:** Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
- **United Nations Treaty Collection Object ID:** 08000002801d466c.
- **Classification Codes:** Dewey Decimal 341.37; Library of Congress KZ1298-KZ1304; EuroVoc ID 3461.
- **Resulting Entity:** The ITER Organization.

## FAQs
- **Who were the key participants in the signing of the ITER Agreement?**
The agreement was signed at the Élysée Palace with the participation of Jacques Chirac (President of the French Republic) and José Manuel Durão Barroso (President of the European Commission). The formal signatories represented the governments of China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, the United States, and the European Union.

- **Which nations have ratified the agreement and when?**
The treaty has been ratified by the United States, Japan, India, South Korea, the People's Republic of China, and the European Atomic Energy Community. Russia ratified the agreement on July 19, 2007, under the authority of Vladimir Putin.

- **What is the legal and academic classification of the ITER Agreement?**
As a formal treaty, it is classified under international law (P268) and indexed in systems such as the UK Parliament thesaurus (93339) and the BNCF thesaurus (9053). It is categorized within the Library of Congress genre/form terms as "Agreements, International" and "Conventions (Law)."

## Why It Matters
The ITER Agreement is the foundational legal instrument for one of the most complex scientific collaborations in history. By establishing the ITER International Fusion Energy Organization, the treaty provides a structured mechanism for nations to bind themselves to specific obligations, commitments, and resource sharing. It solves the problem of cross-border legal enforceability for large-scale scientific infrastructure, creating a framework for global governance in the pursuit of fusion energy. As a treaty, it serves as a primary instrument of international law, ensuring that the participating nations—representing a significant portion of the global population—maintain a stable diplomatic and legal environment for long-term research.

## Notable For
- **Establishment of the ITER Organization:** The agreement directly resulted in the creation of the international body responsible for the ITER project.
- **High-Level Diplomatic Origin:** Signed at the Élysée Palace in the presence of the French President and the President of the European Commission.
- **IAEA Oversight:** The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency serves as the official depositary for the agreement.
- **Multilingual Documentation:** As a treaty, its concepts and related documentation are available in 67 Wikipedia languages and various international thesauri.
- **Standardized Identification:** Recognized across multiple global databases including the UN Treaty Collection and Wikidata (Q6469367).

## Body

### Legal Framework and Classification
The ITER Agreement is formally defined as an "express agreement between nations under international law." It is a subclass of both "agreement" (Q2635077) and Q68619446. Within academic and library systems, the agreement is organized under the Dewey Decimal classification 341.37 and Library of Congress classification KZ1298-KZ1304. It is also identified by the EuroVoc ID 3461 and the ACM classification code 10003471 (2012).

### Signing and Ratification
The agreement was finalized on November 21, 2006, at the Élysée Palace. The signing ceremony involved high-ranking officials and heads of state, including:
*   **Jacques Chirac:** President of the French Republic.
*   **José Manuel Durão Barroso:** President of the European Commission.
*   **Xu Guanhua:** Minister of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China.
*   **Raymond L. Orbach:** U.S. Under Secretary of Energy for Science.
*   **Janez Potočnik:** European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science.

The agreement required ratification by its member entities to take full effect. The European Atomic Energy Community, China, South Korea, India, Japan, and the United States completed this process. Russia's ratification was finalized on July 19, 2007, by Vladimir Putin.

### Organizational Structure and Depositary
The primary effect of the agreement was the establishment of the ITER Organization, which manages the ITER project. To ensure international transparency and legal record-keeping, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was designated as the depositary for the treaty. The agreement is registered with the United Nations Treaty Collection under the object ID 08000002801d466c.

### International and Academic Context
The ITER Agreement is part of a broader ecosystem of international law and treaty-making. It is associated with several standardized identifiers:
*   **Wikidata ID:** Q6469367
*   **BNCF Thesaurus:** 9053
*   **GND ID:** 4063696-3
*   **JSTOR Topic ID:** Treaties and international agreements
*   **Library of Congress Authority ID:** sh85137207

The treaty is documented extensively in 67 languages, including English, French, German, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and Japanese. It is also referenced in specialized systems such as the UNBIS thesaurus (1006683), the STW thesaurus for economics (16184-5), and the Great Russian Encyclopedia.

### Related Entities and Aliases
The agreement is known by several formal aliases depending on the language of the signatory:
*   **French:** Accord sur l’établissement de l’Organisation internationale ITER pour l’énergie de fusion en vue de la mise en œuvre conjointe du projet ITER.
*   **Russian:** Соглашение о создании международной организации ИТЭР по термоядерной энергии для совместной реализации проекта ИТЭР.

It is considered a facet of both the ITER Organization and the ITER project itself. Its legal nature connects it to historical treaty-making precedents, such as those documented in the Original Geneva Conventions and the SALT II agreements, which serve as primary mechanisms for international cooperation and conflict resolution.