Germany objects to Iran's reservations to the Palermo Convention

On August 7, 2026, the Federal Government formally lodged an objection with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in his capacity as depositary of the Convention, against the reservations and declarations of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The announcement of August 27, 2026, was published in the Federal Law Gazette Part II No. 181 on September 4, 2026. The objection expressly does not prevent the Convention from entering into force between Germany and Iran.

Background of the Palermo Convention

The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime of November 15, 2000, known as the Palermo Convention, is the central instrument of international law for combating organized crime. Germany ratified it by law in 2005 (BGBl. 2005 II p. 954, 956). The Islamic Republic of Iran deposited its instrument of ratification on August 6, 2025, while making extensive reservations and declarations, which were published in the announcement of August 13, 2025 (BGBl. 2025 II No. 227).

The Federal Government has carefully examined these reservations and concluded that they are incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention and are therefore inadmissible under international law. The announcement explicitly cites Article 19, letter (c) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties as the legal basis.

Iran’s Contested Reservations

The German objections are directed against several of Iran’s declarations, which leave it unclear to what extent the state recognizes the binding effect of the Convention:

• The declaration to interpret and apply Articles 2, 3, 5, 10, and 23 in accordance with domestic laws and the constitution.
• The declaration not to consider itself bound in cases where Article 14, paragraph 1 conflicts with Sharia.
• The declaration to decide on the application of Articles 15, 16, and 18 regarding extradition and mutual legal assistance on a case-by-case basis, which creates an excessively wide margin of discretion.
• The declaration on the right to self-determination of peoples under colonial rule, which falsely assumes a contradiction with the fight against crime and is assessed as irrelevant.

Broad International Support

The German objection does not stand alone. The announcement lists other states and organizations that have also raised objections to the Iranian reservations:

• Belgium (July 30, 2026)
• European Union (July 23, 2026)
• Finland (July 21, 2026)
• France (July 31, 2026)
• Lithuania (August 4, 2026)
• Netherlands (August 19, 2026)
• Poland (August 4, 2026)
• Portugal (August 7, 2026)
• Sweden (August 10, 2026)
• Switzerland (August 7, 2026)
• Slovenia (August 5, 2026)
• United States (August 11, 2026)
• United Kingdom (August 4, 2026)

The announcement was signed by Dr. Julia Monar on behalf of the Federal Foreign Office. The reservations and declarations of the other states will not be published in the Federal Law Gazette Part II, but can be viewed in English and French on the United Nations website at treaties.un.org.

Significance for the Readers

The objection is a diplomatically significant step in international criminal law cooperation: it clarifies that Germany considers the Iranian reservations to be inadmissible, without however blocking cooperation with Iran within the framework of the Convention. For practical purposes, this means that the contractual obligations to combat transnational organized crime between the two states fundamentally continue to exist.

Source: Federal Law Gazette, Part II No. 181 of September 4, 2026, Announcement regarding the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, pp. 1–2 (official reference: BGBl. 2026 II No. 181).