Cartel (intergovernmental agreement)

It has been suggested that this article be merged into Treaty. (Discuss) Proposed since March 2021.

Cartels (“Cartells”, “Cartelle” or “Kartell-Konventionen” in other languages) were a special kind of treaty within the international law of the 17th to 19th centuries.^[1][2][3][4] Their purpose was to regulate specific activities of common interest among contracting states that otherwise remained rivals in other areas. They were typically implemented on an administrative level. Similar to the ‘’cartels’’ for duels and tournaments, these intergovernmental accords represented fairness agreements or gentlemen’s agreements between states.

In the United States, cartels governed humanitarian actions typically carried out by cartel ships were dispatched for missions, such as to carry communications or prisoners between belligerents.^[5]

From the European history, a broader range of purposes is known. These ‘cartels’ often reflected the cohesion of authoritarian ruling classes against their own unruly citizens. Generally, the European governments concluded - while curbing their mutual rivalries partially - cooperation agreements, which should apply generally or only in case of war:^[6]

• Deserters, escaped serfs and criminals were to be mutually extradited.
• Prisoners of war should be handed out according to rank in different exchange ratios.
• The maintenance of postal and commercial traffic including the entry and exit of couriers should be guaranteed in the fields of communication and transport.
• ‘Customs cartels' (“Zollkartelle”) and 'coin cartels' (“Münzkartelle”) were 'regulatory' agreements between Continental-European states in the 19th century.
• Against smugglers and counterfeiters, a joint action approach was adopted by the governments contracting on international trade treaties. The latter often contained the relevant ‘cartel’ regulations in their annexes.

The measures against criminals and unruly citizens were to be conducted regardless of the nationality and origin of the relevant persons. If necessary, national borders could be crossed by police forces of the respective neighboring country for capture and arrest. In the course of the 19th century, the term ‘cartel’ (or 'Cartell') gradually disappeared for intergovernmental agreements under international law. Instead, the term "convention" was used.

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