This book summarises the history of the development and use of chemical weapons; describes the negotiation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and the work of the Preparatory Commission for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical weapons; reviews the first ten years of operation of the treaty and the organisation; and draws lessons for the creation of other treaty based organisations. It describes how the abstract concepts contained in the treaty were translated into an operational international organisation able to send inspectors to military and civil chemical facilities around the world. This book is the first comprehensive study of the creation and work of OPCW. Its publication coincides with the tenth anniversary of the treaty entering into force, and it will interest Government officials involved in the creation of new international organisations, practitioners and academics.