Treaty Interpretation Research Papers

This book addresses current developments concerning the interpretation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the part of international courts and tribunals. It does so from different perspectives, by focusing... more

This chapter examines the domestic origins of the canons of construction used in treaty interpretation. It shows that these canons typically draw on domestic principles for statutory and contractual interpretation. Section I surveys... more

This book deepens the study of the law of treaties by offering specific solutions to current legal problems. It provides a high-level theoretical and practical approach, touching upon all major current issues of the law of treaties. It is... more

The chapter explores the historical background to plurilingual treaty-making as well as the practice of the PCIJ and ICJ to the interpretation of plurilingual treaties. The chapter includes a detailed examination of Article 33 of the... more

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) was adopted by the General Assembly sixty-five years ago. Following the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust, the Genocide Convention’s primary... more

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) was adopted by the General Assembly sixty-five years ago. Following the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust, the Genocide Convention’s primary object and purpose was the eradication of the crime through its prevention. Numerous cases of genocide have been committed since the Convention entered into force in 1951, betraying the hope that the Convention would eradicate the world of this ‘odious scourge’. This begged the question: why, despite its universal condemnation and international legal prohibition, has genocide continued to be perpetrated and, in particular, why has the international community failed to take the necessary measures to prevent it?

An analysis of the text of the Genocide Convention and the scholarly literature revealed that the Convention includes weaknesses that diminish its preventive efficacy. Because the Genocide Convention evolved through a negotiating process that produced three formal drafts of the convention, the final draft was compared to the previous two to determine whether the identified weaknesses originated in the initial draft or were negotiated into the adopted text. Only one of the identified weaknesses was present in the initial draft. These findings supported my thesis that the Genocide Convention’s preventive efficacy was intentionally weakened, while also raising the question of whether the five permanent members of the Security Council had other motives when they introduced these changes to the Genocide Convention.

Why would the negotiating parties, the permanent members of the Security Council chief among them, actively work to weaken components of the draft convention? After reviewing the scholarly literature and taking into account the historical context within which the treaty was being negotiated, I concluded that the negotiating parties privileged considerations of national interest and state sovereignty rights over the development of a treaty capable of achieving the full international prohibition of genocide. The permanent members worked to ensure that they would not be implicated in the commission of genocide and that the Genocide Convention could not be used to justify interference in their internal affairs.

The purposeful weakening of the Genocide Convention’s preventive efficacy, while based in plausible reasons for doing so, demonstrates a lack of commitment to the prevention of genocide. Collectively, the weaknesses combine to relegate the Genocide Convention to a form of symbolic legislation. Because there have been multiple failed attempts to amend the Genocide Convention, the future of genocide prevention likely lies elsewhere. Three recent developments in international law provide some promise for the future. The development of the Responsibility to Protect, the establishment of the International Criminal Court, and the International Court of Justice’s ruling in the case of Bosnia v. Serbia, were analyzed to determine their potential to improve on the record of genocide prevention. It was concluded that each offers promise and each contains practical limitations.

Spacefaring activities are currently undertaken by more actors than before, including private companies, and projects have become oriented towards long-time presence not only in outer space, but including on the surface of celestial... more

The proliferation of International Investment Agreements (IIAs) and treaty-based investment arbitration has raised concerns over the extent to which IIAs are actually fair and are able to balance the interests of foreign investors and... more

The proliferation of International Investment Agreements (IIAs) and treaty-based investment arbitration has raised concerns over the extent to which IIAs are actually fair and are able to balance the interests of foreign investors and States. The strong protections afforded by IIAs to investors may restrict the host State's ability to regulate for the public interest and potentially allow newly adopted public policies to be subject to compensation. Several economic transactions that have qualified as investments for treaty protection have fallen short of contributing to the host State's sustainable development. They have not added to the generation of employment and growth, the transfer of new technologies and knowledge or the strengthening of infrastructure. Nor have many of these economic transactions contributed to the home country's development. Moreover, regulatory measures adopted with the aim of fostering sustainable development (ie environmental measures) have been successfully challenged by investors. In some cases tribunals have interpreted these measures as creeping or indirect expropriations, therefore requiring compensation. Both the lack of consideration for the host State's interests under international investment law and the limitation to the State's policy space have been perceived as having negative implications for the development of the country, and in particular for the adoption of sustainable policies. Though little empirical evidence exists, it has been suggested that investment arbitration is a threat to the adoption of public policy regulations and may even have a 'chilling effect' on them. A possible way forward is the negotiation of a new generation of investment treaties, as well as the renegotiation and revision of the existing ones. These changes are needed in order to balance the interests of States and investors and to incorporate innovative features in light of the necessary policy space that States require in order to foster sustainable development through the application of dynamic social and environmental norms and regulations. Another alternative is the adoption of interpretative approaches, which ultimately foster sustainable development goals. The preferred options are the contextual and dynamic interpretation of the intention of the contracting States, as well as the systemic integration of international rules and norms into investor-State disputes.

In the current legal landscape, it is possible to craft policy that combats drug abuse and drug harms, protects human rights, and complies with international drug control law in good faith, by regulating the recreational uses of cannabis... more

In the context of the current negotiations of the ‘asylum package’ and considering the existing regulation on the administrative detention of asylum seekers in EU law, this contribution aims to identify the legal difficulties that would... more

International investment law is in transition. Whereas the prevailing mindset has always been the protection of the economic interests of individual investors, new developments in international investment law have brought about a... more

International investment law is in transition. Whereas the prevailing mindset has always been the protection of the economic interests of individual investors, new developments in international investment law have brought about a paradigm shift. There is now more than ever before an interest in a more inclusive, transparent, and public regime.

Shifting Paradigms in International Investment Law, edited by Steffen Hindelang and Markus Krajewski, addresses these changes against the background of the UNCTAD framework to reform investment treaties. The book analyses how the investment treaty regime has changed and how it ought to be changing to reconcile private property interests and the state's duty to regulate in the public interest. In doing so, the volume tracks attempts in international investment law to recalibrate itself towards a more balanced, less isolated, and increasingly diversified regime.

By bringing together a geographically and ideologically diverse team of academics and practitioners to engage with the issues, the individual chapters of this edited volume address the contents of investment agreements, the system of dispute settlement, the interrelation of investment agreements with other areas of public international law, constitutional questions, and new regional perspectives from South Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Pacific Rim Region. Together they provide an invaluable resource for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.

Contents

Steffen Hindelang and Markus Krajewski: Introductory Observations
I: Giorgio Sacerdoti: Investment Protection and Sustainable Development: Key Issues
II: Peter Muchlinski: Negotiating New Generation International Investment Agreements: New Sustainable Development Oriented Initiatives
III: Roland Kläger: Revising Treatment Standards: Fair and Equitable Treatment in Light of Sustainable Development
IV: Lukas Stifter and August Reinisch: Expropriation in the Light of the UNCTAD Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development
V: Jonathan Ketcheson: Investor-State Dispute Settlement and Sustainable Development: Modest Reform
VI: Gus Van Harten: The EC and UNCTAD Reform Agendas: Do They Ensure Independence, Openness, and Fairness in Investor-State Arbitration
VII: J. Anthony VanDuzer: Sustainable Development Provisions in International Trade Treaties: What Lessons for International Investment Agreements?
VIII: Katharina Berner: Reconciling Investment Protection and Sustainable Development: A Plea for an Interpretative U-Turn
IX: Helmut Philipp Aust: Investment Protection and Sustainable Development: What Role for the Law of State Responsibility
X: Karsten Nowrot: Termination and Renegotiation of International Investment Agreements
XI: Sean Woolfrey: The Emergence of a New Approach to Investment Protection in South Africa
XII: Maria Luque: Reliance on Alternative Methods for Investment Protection through National Laws, Investment Contracts, and Regional Institutions in Latin America
XIII: Leon E. Trakman and Kunal Sharma: Jumping Back and Forth between Domestic Courts and ISDS: Mixed Signals from the Asia-Pacific Region
XIV: Peter-Tobias Stoll and Till Holterhus: The 'Generalization' of International Investment Law in Constitutional Perspective
XV: Frank Hoffmeister: The Contribution of EU Trade Agreements to the Development of International Investment Law
Steffen Hindelang and Markus Krajewski: Concluding Remarks

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- by Steffen Hindelang and +1
  Markus Krajewski
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- 29
  European Law, Sustainable Development, Arbitration Law, European Foreign Policy

This chapter explores the relationship between international human rights law and international humanitarian law in the targeting of members of armed groups in non-international armed conflicts. It attempts to flesh out points of... more

This paper seeks to clarify the confusions regarding the relationships between international human rights law and international humanitarian law, the principle of equality of belligerents, and the use of the term “should” in treaties.... more

International cultural heritage-related disputes rarely entail uniquely cultural issues. These disputes — just like any other international dispute — may involve questions relating to other branches of the law. The case of the Crimean art... more

The purpose of the present Thesis is to examine the principle of evolutionary interpretation and its connection to the option of a "special meaning" introduced in Article 31.4 VCLT. The analysis initiates with some general remarks on the... more

Arguably, sovereignty, as understood in the Lotus Case, does not foreclose the possibility of international trade law’s renovation through a constitutional interpretation. The article identifies this possibility through the epithet of... more

If law is a social construct, the product of interactions between individuals and other legal persons, then it is not surprising that we are drawn to describing law or specific legal instruments in the same way we do those legal persons.... more

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- by richard barnes
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- 5
  International Law, Autopoiesis, Law of the Sea, Treaty Law

Il saggio intende mettere in luce la complessità degli organi di controllo nel diritto internazionale e le loro funzioni, al fine di chiarire il valore delle pronunce del Comitato europeo dei diritti sociali (Comitato europeo o CEDS) per... more

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has consistently adopted a universalist approach to treaty interpretation, reflected in its evolutive interpretation of the American Convention on Human Rights. An overview of the most important... more

Academic analysis of pronouncements of human rights treaty monitoring bodies has tended to focus on their contribution to the promotion of human rights in domestic jurisdictions, particularly to convey the desire of scholars to see more... more

The principle of contemporaneous interpretation provides that the terms of a treaty shall be interpreted as they were understood at the time of the conclusion of the treaty. The principle of evolutionary interpretation, on the other hand,... more

While treaties can be notoriously difficult to amend by formal means, they must nevertheless be adapted over time in order to remain useful. Herein lies the role of subsequent practice as a key tool for treaty change. Subsequent practice... more

While treaties can be notoriously difficult to amend by formal means, they must nevertheless be adapted over time in order to remain useful. Herein lies the role of subsequent practice as a key tool for treaty change. Subsequent practice - a well-established means of treaty interpretation - sometimes diverges from the original treaty provision to such an extent that it can no longer be said to constitute an act of interpretation or application. Rather, it becomes, in effect, one of treaty modification.

The modification of treaties by subsequent practice extends to all fields of international law, from the law of the sea, environmental law, and investment law, to human rights and humanitarian law. Such modifications can have significant practical consequences, from revising or creating new rights and obligations, to establishing new institutional mechanisms. Determining when and how treaty modification by subsequent practice occurs poses difficulty to legal scholars and dispute settlement bodies alike, and impacts States' expectations as to their treaty obligations. This significant yet underexplored process is the focus of this book.

Modification of Treaties by Subsequent Practice proves that subsequent practice can - under carefully defined conditions that ensure strict accordance with the will of the treaty parties - alter, supplement, and terminate treaty provisions or even entire treaty frameworks. It can also generate customary law and fuel regime interaction. Ultimately, this book demonstrates the relevance and dynamism of the process of treaty modification by subsequent practice, emphasizing the need to deal with the issue head on, and explains - on a theoretical and practical level - how it can be identified and dealt with more consistently in the future. The book thus contributes to a deeper understanding of the process of treaty modification by subsequent practice and its continued role in striking the judicious balance between the stability of treaties on the one hand, and the organic evolution of the law on the other.

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- by Irina Buga
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- 12
  Environmental Law, International Law, Human Rights, Law of the Sea

The adoption of the 2008 Rotterdam Rules in six equally authentic language versions has presented the maritime community with an issue that it has not (knowingly) previously encountered, namely the issue of the interpretation of... more

Intertemporal Linguistics in International Law examines and offers an overdue solution to a specific problem central to the resolution of an ever increasing number of international legal disputes: how to interpret a treaty with terms that... more

International intellectual property regime is one of the most problematic legal regimes in international economic law. Although its establishment goes back to more than one hundred years ago, it can not be argued that it is stable and... more

The role of regional organisations in dispute settlement for states is very instrumental to the resolution of inter-state disputes and human-rights related disputes. This paper will highlight the interaction between state sovereignty and... more

International investment cases show the frequent use of good faith arguments by both investors and respondent states. These cases also illustrate how parties and tribunals tend to conceptualize the good faith principle which has become an... more

The object and purpose is usually perceived as referring to one notion, the purpose that a norm is aimed to serve. This paper, however, argues that for interpretation in light of the object and purpose, first, the purpose that can be... more

On 3 June 2013, countries united to sign the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in an effort to combat illegal arms transfers and also regulate legal arms transfers between countries. The ATT provides an unprecedented regulatory framework which... more

The cornerstone of international law in providing stability in international relations is the sovereign equality of States, and both the Responsiblity to Protect and the Landlocked States clash with this bedrock of international law. The... more

This post analyses the doctrinal contributions of the “Norstar” Judgement to both freedom of navigation (Article 87(1)(a) of UNCLOS) and exclusive flag state jurisdiction (Article 92(1) of UNCLOS). The post concludes with a brief... more

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- by Arron N Honniball
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- 4
  Law of the Sea, Jurisdiction, Treaty Interpretation, ITLOS

While the topic of this chapter may appear out of place in an edited volume on 'evolutionary interpretation', intertemporal linguistics in fact drills down directly into the epicentre of the evolutionary interpretation debate. In this... more

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- by Julian Wyatt
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- 12
  International Law, Legal Theory, Public International Law, Linguistics

International lawyers and courts consider the principle of systemic integration to be a potential answer to difficulties arising from the fragmentation of public international law. This article questions the application of this approach... more

My dissenting opinion of the Interim Award on Jurisdiction in the PCA Case No. 2013-34 Venezuela US SRL v Venezuela. It relates to the applicability of the MFN Clause to establish jurisdiction

Le mur – à la fois « mur-objet » et « mur-mot » –, et plus précisément le mur-frontière, étant le « signe de » quelque chose, les outils de la sémiotique et de la sémantique peuvent être sollicités. Toute édification d'un mur-frontière... more

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- by Albane Geslin
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- 3
  International Law, Semiotics of Law, Treaty Interpretation

Az Európa Tanácsnak (ET) az emberi lény emberi jogainak és méltóságának a biológia és az orvostudomány alkalmazására tekintettel történő védelméről szóló, Oviedóban, 1997. április 4-én kelt egyezménye a bioetika nemzetközi jogi... more

Az Európa Tanácsnak (ET) az emberi lény emberi jogainak és méltóságának a biológia és az orvostudomány alkalmazására tekintettel történő védelméről szóló, Oviedóban, 1997. április 4-én kelt egyezménye a bioetika nemzetközi jogi szabályozásának egyik legjelentősebb alapdokumentuma. Ennek egyik oka az, hogy az államok hajlandóak és képesek is voltak elfogadni egy átfogó, kötelező erővel bíró instrumentumot egy morális szempontból igen érzékeny területen. A szakirodalomban mindazonáltal megoszlanak a vélemények az egyezmény jelentőségét illetően. Egyesek, például Derryck Beyleveld és Roger Brownsword, egyfajta közös európai moralitásról beszélnek a konvenció kapcsán, mások viszont – többek között Kurt Bayertz – megkérdőjelezik annak konszenzusos jellegét, és pusztán politikai kompromisszumnak minősítik azt. Ezen ellentétes nézetekben az a közös, hogy az egyezmény tartalmára, illetőleg elfogadásának körülményire koncentrálnak. Nem veszik azonban figyelembe a konvenció értelmezését és alkalmazását az Emberi Jogok Európai Bírósága (EJEB) gyakorlatának tükrében.

Bioetikával összefüggő esetek viszonylag gyakran kerültek és kerülnek a bíróság elé. Az abortusszal, a kényszer-sterilizálással, a reprodukciós jogokkal vagy az asszisztált öngyilkossággal kapcsolatos ügyek azért kiemelkedő jelentőségűek, mivel az egyének életének igen fontos aspektusát érintik. A vonatkozó emberi jogi kérdések megnyugtató megválaszolásában ezért nagy szerepe van az EJEB-nek. Mivel azonban a bioetika kényes morális és jogi kérdéseket érint, a testületnek fokozottan ügyelnie kell arra, hogy megfelelő egyensúlyt teremtsen az Emberi jogok európai egyezményének az emberi jogok hatékony védelmét lehetővé tevő dinamikus értelmezése, illetőleg az államok részére biztosított mérlegelési szabadság között. Az ET tagállamai körében esetlegesen kialakult konszenzus analízise egyfajta „mediátorként” ehhez nyújt segítséget a bíróságnak. A testület a konszenzus-analízis keretében rendszeresen figyelembe veszi a nemzetközi szerződések rendelkezéseit, mivel e dokumentumok is bizonyíthatják az államok közös gyakorlatát egy adott kérdést illetően. Azoknak az eseteknek a vizsgálata, amelyben az EJEB az Oviedói egyezményre hivatkozott, ezért rávilágíthat ezen instrumentum státuszára, illetőleg tényleges jelentőségére is.

International lawyers and courts consider the principle of systemic integration to be a potential answer to difficulties arising from the fragmentation of public international law. This article questions the application of this approach... more

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- by Mando Rachovitsa
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- 12
  Law, Human Rights Law, Human Rights, Political Science

Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties calls for consideration of the ordinary meaning as the starting point in the process of interpretation. Although the linguistic concept of ordinary meaning is founded on the idea... more

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Older men and women have been identified as facing many human rights violations, yet provisions protecting this category are scattered over a large number of highly diverse instruments. Notwithstanding increased calls for a global binding... more

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Different interpretations of the terms under the dispute settlement clause in Turkey-Turkic state BITs have recently caused conflicting decisions rendered by investment tribunals. To be more precise, the tribunal in Kılıç regarded this... more

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- by Berk Demirkol
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- 20
  Law, International Law, International Arbitration, Arbitration

This article presents a methodological critique of the interpretation, increasingly popular after Hassan v UK, that Article 5(1) ECHR allows the internment of prisoners of war or civilians in international armed conflicts according to... more

Treaty Interpretation

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