Interpreting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Abstract:     
This is a thesis-driven monograph which will apply the rules of treaty interpretation in international law to produce what I will term a "holistic interpretation" of the NPT. Through the application of these interpretive methods, I will hope to demonstrate that a number of the legal interpretive positions on teh NPT, maintained particularly by nuclear-weapon-possessing governments, are legally incorrect.

The unifying thesis of this book is that the original balance of principles underlying the NPT, which can be distilled through an application of the principles of treaty interpretation contained in Articles 31 and 32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, has for over a decade been distorted particularly by nuclear-weapon-possessing, led by the United States, in favor of a disproportionate prioritization of non-proliferation principles, and an unwarranted under-prioritization of peaceful use and disarmament principles. I will argue that this distortion of principled balance by nuclear weapon states has resulted in a number of erroneous legal interpretations of the NPT's provisions.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 7

Keywords: international law, arms control, nuclear, non-proliferation

Accepted Paper Series