International Legal Evangelism: Intelligence, Reconnaissance & Missions

esponsibility. Paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 16 regulate further the competencies of the
Länder and of the federal state in the implementation of treaties.
Belgium
A Belgium 1993 constitutional revision granted Regions and Communities the right to
develop international co-operation, including the celebration of treaties, in matters of
their exclusive competence (article 167 (3)). Cultural and educational matters are,
according to article 127 (3), those fields of their exclusive competence. This faculty
includes the drafting of treaties, which are ratified by the French and the Flemish
Community Councils by decree (article 128 (1.1)). Article 130 (4) provides the same
right to the German-speaking Community, and adds "personal issues" to its fields of
competence.
Since the Communities have acquired exclusive right to develop their international
relations on those exclusive matters, the King cannot sign, ratify or denounce treaties
on their behalf. Only the treaties concluded before 18 May 1993 may be denounced by
the King. The rigidity of Belgium sphere of competences raised legal difficulties to the
approval of international treaties dealing with both federal and community's issues.
These treaties are known as traités mixtes, and is the object of a co-operation
agreement between the federal state, the Communities and the Regions (8 Mars 1994),
which provides for a complex mechanism of shared responsibilities.
Canada
Canadian provinces are among the most active sub-national units on the international
stage. The total amount spent on diplomacy by the ten Canadian provinces is equal to
that of the fifty American states, despite the fact Canada's population is one-ninth the
size and the economy is only one-fourteenth as large. Canadian provinces are largely
motivated by economic concerns stemming from the high degree of economic diversity
between regions of the country and because of Canada's integration into world markets,
especially the US market via NAFTA.
Nine of the ten provinces trade more with the United States than with the rest of
Canada. Relations with major trading partners, most especially the United States, are
the most important. At the same time Quebec nationalism has motivated the Frenchspeaking
province of Quebec to pursue closer ties with France and the other members
of la Francophonie. Furthermore, Canada's constitution is generally interpreted in a
decentralist way, giving the provinces a great deal of responsibilities.
While Québec has the strongest paradiplomatic presence, British Columbia and
Saskatchewan formerly operated economic trade offices abroad; Nova Scotia operated
a tourism office in Portland, Maine until 2009. Ontario formerly had representation in
Boston, Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas; it continues to promote the province's industries
from delegations in New York City and Los Angeles
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