The UN Arms Trade Treaty: A breakthrough or with some birth defects?

The international trade in conventional arms is a multi-billion-dollar global business. For some, it is a backbone of national economy, industry and national security. For the wider international community, the unregulated business and transfer of weapons and munitions across borders pose a grave threat inter alia to humanitarian and security legal norms primarily because they are the main tools of contemporary armed violence and human suffering. The chapter delves into the salient features, foundations and guiding principles of the UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). After carefully examining the various substantive prohibitions, standards and procedural requirements for international arms transfers, the chapter reflects on the question of whether or not the ATT represents a major breakthrough in the field of arms control law, or came with a serious birth defects, which may/ may not be cured through subsequent practices and amendments.