Is Treaty Interpretation an Art or a Science? International Law and Rational Decision Making
(2015) In European Journal of International Law 26(1). p.169-189- Abstract
- Although treaty interpretation is undoubtedly an activity governed by international law, and by Articles 31-33 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) in particular, some commentators continue repeating the pre-Vienna adage that treaty interpretation is a matter of art and not science, the implication of which is that no understanding of a treaty provision can ever be explained rationally. As the present article argues, this idea of interpretation must be rejected. While, sometimes, an assumed meaning of a treaty cannot be justified based on international law simpliciter, many times it can still be explained based on the structural framework of Articles 31-33 of the VCLT. Consequently, any characterization of treaty... (More)
- Although treaty interpretation is undoubtedly an activity governed by international law, and by Articles 31-33 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) in particular, some commentators continue repeating the pre-Vienna adage that treaty interpretation is a matter of art and not science, the implication of which is that no understanding of a treaty provision can ever be explained rationally. As the present article argues, this idea of interpretation must be rejected. While, sometimes, an assumed meaning of a treaty cannot be justified based on international law simpliciter, many times it can still be explained based on the structural framework of Articles 31-33 of the VCLT. Consequently, any characterization of treaty interpretation in the abstract as either art or science is misplaced. Whether treaty interpretation is an art or a science remains a question of fact inextricably tied to the approach taken by each and every law-applying agent in particular cases. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/7432799
- author
- Linderfalk, Ulf LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2015
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- European Journal of International Law
- volume
- 26
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 169 - 189
- publisher
- Oxford University Press
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000353692000006
- scopus:84926482246
- ISSN
- 1464-3596
- DOI
- 10.1093/ejil/chv008
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 69a1d5d6-1f8c-47ca-a328-f43307727a5a (old id 7432799)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 10:52:31
- date last changed
- 2022-10-12 13:08:44
@article{69a1d5d6-1f8c-47ca-a328-f43307727a5a,
abstract = {{Although treaty interpretation is undoubtedly an activity governed by international law, and by Articles 31-33 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) in particular, some commentators continue repeating the pre-Vienna adage that treaty interpretation is a matter of art and not science, the implication of which is that no understanding of a treaty provision can ever be explained rationally. As the present article argues, this idea of interpretation must be rejected. While, sometimes, an assumed meaning of a treaty cannot be justified based on international law simpliciter, many times it can still be explained based on the structural framework of Articles 31-33 of the VCLT. Consequently, any characterization of treaty interpretation in the abstract as either art or science is misplaced. Whether treaty interpretation is an art or a science remains a question of fact inextricably tied to the approach taken by each and every law-applying agent in particular cases.}},
author = {{Linderfalk, Ulf}},
issn = {{1464-3596}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{169--189}},
publisher = {{Oxford University Press}},
series = {{European Journal of International Law}},
title = {{Is Treaty Interpretation an Art or a Science? International Law and Rational Decision Making}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chv008}},
doi = {{10.1093/ejil/chv008}},
volume = {{26}},
year = {{2015}},
}