signed it. A state which did not participate in the drafting but affixed its signature subsequently, signified its agreement to the text and must have the same rights as the original signatories. The conclusion would therefore be that a reservation to a “blocked” provision could be made only with the consent of all states which at the time the 245 reservation is deposited are either parties or signatories to the Convention. 3. The provisions of the Convention on reservations undoubtedly represent a departure from traditional practices relative to reservations which require that every reservation must be 246 formally accepted by other signatories before it becomes valid. Under the provision of Article 38 states do not need such consent insofar as the non-blocked articles are concerned. Assistant Secretary-General Karno stated correctly in the Refugee Convention that “Article 36 (of the draft - at present Article 42 of the Refugee Convention) gave states, so to speak, a blanket authorization to make any reservations they wished except in respect of certain 247 specific articles.” This view was even more clearly stated by Mr. Giraud (Secretariat) in the Second Session of the Ad Hoc Committee when he suggested a departure from the traditional practice and establishing a system of “free reservations” valid even without the 248 agreement or acquiescence of the other Contracting Parties. 4. Since the right of making reservations is a privilege, they may be withdrawn at the pleasure of the reserving state. Article 38 does not state when a notification concerning the withdrawal of a reservation becomes valid. It may be assumed that the usual ninety-day period is also applicable here. Article 39 Entry into force 1. This Convention shall come into force on the ninetieth day following the day of deposit of the sixth instrument of ratification or accession. 2. For each State ratifying or acceding to the Convention after the deposit of the sixth instrument of ratification or accession, the Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day following the date of deposit by such State of its instrument of ratification or accession. The article was taken over from the Refugee Convention without any change. This article deals with two dates of coming into force of the Convention: (a) the original date (para. 1) and (b) the subsequent dates (para. 2). The original date relates to the entry of the Convention into force among the states which are the first to comply with the requirements of Article 35. Article 39 requires that at least six states must legally become parties to the Convention, before it enters into force among them. It stipulates as a prerequisite for it, that at least six ratifications or accessions be deposited with the Secretary-General. It further prescribes that 89 days must have elapsed since the sixth (or if several ratifications or accessions are deposited at the same day, those following the 245 The International Court of Justice held in its Advisory Opinion concerning the Genocide Convention that signature without ratification creates only a provisional status for provisional objections, which only come into effect upon ratification. It may appear unreasonable, in such instances, to have a reservation to a blocked provision agreed to, only to revoke this agreement after the signatory state, which objected to the reservation, has ratified the Convention. 246 For the international practices on reservations to multilateral agreements see International Organization, V (1951), 167 ff. The aforementioned Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice undoubtedly established a new approach to reservations by contending that if a state ratified the (Genocide) Convention, with a reservation which is compatible with the purpose and object of the Convention, it became a party thereto even if the reservation was objected to by one of the parties. In the view of the Court, in such cases the Convention is in force between the state which made the reservation and those which objected to it, except for the clauses affected by the reservations. 247 SR.21, p. 19. 248 SR.33, p. 16.