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This series features works on substantial topics in international law which provide authoritative statements of the chosen areas. Taken together they map out the whole of international law in a set of scholarly reference works and treatises intended to be of use to scholars, practitioners, and students.
This book provides a guide to interpreting treaties properly in accordance with the modern rules for treaty interpretation which are codified in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. These rules now apply to virtually all treaties both in an international context and within many national legal systems where treaties have an impact on a large and growing range of matters. Lawyers, administrators, diplomats, and officials at international organisations are increasingly likely to encounter issues of treaty interpretation which require not only knowledge of the relevant rules but also how these rules have been, and are to be, applied in practice.
There is now a considerable body of case law on application of the codified rules. This case law, combined with the history and analysis of the rules, provides a basis for understanding this most important task in the application of treaties internationally and within national systems of law. Any lawyer who ever has to consider international matters, and increasingly any lawyer whose work involves domestic legislation with any international connection, is at risk nowadays of encountering a treaty provision which requires interpretation, whether the treaty provision is explicitly in issue or is the source of the relevant legislation.
This expanded edition includes consideration of a range of recent cases, takes account of relevant work of the International Law Commission, and has new material addressing matters raised in the growing body of literature on treaty interpretation.
List of contents
- I. Overview, History, Materials, and Interpreters
- 1.: Introduction
- 2.: History and Development of Rules of Interpretation
- 3.: Making Treaties and Treaty Materials
- 4.: Who Interprets Treaties?
- II. Interpretation Applying the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
- A. The General Rule
- 5.: Text, Context, and Ordinary Meaning of Words
- 6.: Agreements on Meaning and Subsequent Practice
- 7.: Relevant Rules of International Law and Special Meanings
- B. Supplementary Means of Interpretation
- 8.: Preparatory Work and Circumstances of Conclusion of Treaty
- C. Languages
- 9.: Text in Different Languages
- III. Conclusion
- 10.: Criticism, Themes, Issues, and Conclusions
- I. Overview, History, Materials, and Interpreters
- 1.: Introduction
- 2.: History and Development of Rules of Interpretation
- 3.: Making Treaties and Treaty Materials
- 4.: Who Interprets Treaties?
- II. Interpretation Applying the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
- A. The General Rule
- 5.: Text, Context, and Ordinary Meaning of Words
- 6.: Agreements on Meaning and Subsequent Practice
- 7.: Relevant Rules of International Law and Special Meanings
- B. Supplementary Means of Interpretation
- 8.: Preparatory Work and Circumstances of Conclusion of Treaty
- C. Languages
- 9.: Text in Different Languages
- III. Conclusion
- 10.: Criticism, Themes, Issues, and Conclusions
About the author
Richard Gardiner practiced as a barrister, was a legal adviser at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and is a Visiting Professor at University College London.
Summary
Treaty Interpretation, now in its second edition, explores and analyzes the rules for interpretation of treaties and their application in national and international jurisdictions.
