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Chapter 1 presents the theoretical premises upon which the book is based. It invokes and exploits critical theory by focusing on the binary constructions permeating the law of treaties discourse, such as the tension between individualism and collective interest, the juxtapositions between esoteric and manifested intent and the oscillation between the negotium and the instrumentum. The delineation of the theoretical framework and the discursive techniques employed allows the showcasing of both the binary and transformational characters of those tensions, as well as how they shape the discussion on challenges to the treaty concept and the paradigm of state consent in the cases discussed further down in the book. Keywords: individualism; communitarianism; formalism; negotium; instrumentum; State consent; critical approach