Once a treaty has been authenticated, states cannot unilaterally change its provisions. The term "authentication" refers to the procedure whereby the text of a treaty is established as authentic and definitive. In the absence of such provisions, amendments require the consent of all the parties. Many multilateral treaties lay down specific requirements to be satisfied for amendments to be adopted. Such alterations must be effected with the same formalities that attended the original formation of the treaty. The term "amendment" refers to the formal alteration of treaty provisions affecting all the parties to the particular agreement. A treaty can also be adopted by an international conference which has specifically been convened for setting up the treaty, by a vote of two thirds of the states present and voting, unless, by the same majority, they have decided to apply a different rule. Treaties that are negotiated within an international organization will usually be adopted by a resolution of a representative organ of the organization whose membership more or less corresponds to the potential participation in the treaty in question. As a general rule, the adoption of the text of a treaty takes place through the expression of the consent of the states participating in the treaty-making process. "Adoption" is the formal act by which the form and content of a proposed treaty text are established. "Act of formal confirmation" is used as an equivalent for the term "ratification" when an international organization expresses its consent to be bound to a treaty. In the absence of such a provision, accession can only occur where the negotiating states were agreed or subsequently agree on it in the case of the state in question. A treaty might provide for the accession of all other states or for a limited and defined number of states. The conditions under which accession may occur and the procedure involved depend on the provisions of the treaty. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, in his function as depositary, has also accepted accessions to some conventions before their entry into force. Accession usually occurs after the treaty has entered into force. It has the same legal effect as ratification. "Accession" is the act whereby a state accepts the offer or the opportunity to become a party to a treaty already negotiated and signed by other states. In the practice of certain states acceptance and approval have been used instead of ratification when, at a national level, constitutional law does not require the treaty to be ratified by the head of state. The instruments of "acceptance" or "approval" of a treaty have the same legal effect as ratification and consequently express the consent of a state to be bound by a treaty.
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