Japan submits declaration on provisional application of amendments to ECT

On 17 March 2025, Japan formally announced its decision not to accept the provisional application of the amendments to the <span class="news-text_italic-underline">Energy Charter Treaty</span> (“<span class="news-text_medium">ECT</span>”), which were adopted on 3 December 2024. The declaration was published by the Energy Charter Secretariat, acting as the interim Depositary of the ECT.

In its notice, Japan declared that it did not accept the provisional application of the following changes:

• The amendments to the ECT adopted during the Energy Charter Conference on 3 December 2024.
• The modifications in Section C of Annex NI and other changes made to various Annexes of the ECT on the same date.

This announcement follows the Energy Charter Conference’s decision to modernise the ECT.