Article 34 Settlement of disputes Any dispute between parties to this Convention relating to its interpretation or application, which cannot be settled by other means, shall be referred to the International Court of Justice at the request of any one of the parties to the dispute. There was in the conference no discussion regarding this article and its inclusion was approved 233 unanimously. This Article is now a standard provision in treaties concluded under United Nations sponsorship. See i.a. the Genocide Convention, the Convention on the Declaration of Death of Missing Persons. Article 35 Signature, ratification and accession 1. This Convention shall be open for signature at the Headquarters of the United Nations until 31 December 1955. 2. It shall be open for signature on behalf of: (a) any State Member of the United Nations; (b) any other State invited to attend the Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Status of Stateless Persons; and (c) any State to which an invitation to sign or to accede may be addressed by the General Assembly of the United Nations. 3. It shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. 4. It shall be open for accession by the states referred to in paragraph 2 of this article. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The article represents the text of Alternative A of a working paper submitted by the Danish 234 delegation (E/CONF. 17/L. 14). This alternative was approved unanimously. This article reproduces the now standard practice of treaties under United Nations sponsorship providing for two ways of becoming a party to a convention (a) by signature and subsequent ratification (paras. 2 and 3) and (b) by accession, i.e. adherence without prior signature (para. 4). There is no difference in the circle of states which may use the one or the other method. The only restriction on the selection of the method of becoming a Party to the Convention is contained in para. 1. viz., that no signature is permitted after December 31, 1955; i.e., after that date adherence to the Convention may be made only by means of accession. This is being done in order to cut down on doubtful cases, i.e., states which sign the Convention but may not ratify it. However, once a state has signed the Convention before December 31, 1955, there is no time limit for ratification as long as the convention is in force. 233 SR.12, p. 10. 234 SR. 12, p. 10.