Interim Report of the ILA Study Group on the Content and Evolution of the Rules of Interpretation

F Pazartzis, G Ulfstein, P Merkouris & D Peat, ‘Interim Report of the ILA Study Group on the Content and Evolution of the Rules of Interpretation’ (ILA, 78th Biennial Conference, Sydney, 2018)

University of Groningen Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 42/2020

PluriCourts Research Paper

34 Pages Posted: 8 Mar 2021 Last revised: 23 Jun 2021

See all articles by Panos Merkouris

Panos Merkouris

University of Groningen - Faculty of Law

Photini Pazartzis

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens - Faculty of Law

Geir Ulfstein

Faculty of Law, University of Oslo; Pluricourts

Daniel Peat

Leiden University - Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies

Date Written: 2018

Abstract

The ILA Study Group on Content and Evolution of the Rules of Interpretation was established in May 2015, upon approval by the Executive Council of the ILA. The Study Group has held regular meetings since its formation, in Athens (13-14 May 2016), The Hague (21-22 April 2017), and Oslo (14-15 May 2018). These meetings have been made possible by the generous support of the Athens Public International Law Center (AthensPIL) and PluriCourts - Centre for the Study of the Legitimate Roles of the Judiciary in the Global Order.

During the Study Group’s inaugural meeting in 2016, the ILA Study Group Road Map was presented and discussed. The members present showed particular interest in certain topics, but it was decided that finalisation of the work agenda of the Study Group should occur after the input of all members of the Study Group and other ILA members at Johannesburg, at which the Group presented its preliminary report. It was decided that the work of the Study Group would be divided according to issue areas with a view to covering the most important courts, tribunals and treaty bodies (ICs) and members being invited to draft a report on the approach to interpretation adopted by the IC in relation to which they had particular expertise. At the second meeting of the Study Group, held in The Hague in 2017, members presented draft reports on the interpretative practice of various ICs, which were structured around the questionnaire that is annexed to this Report. Two members (d’Aspremont & Gardiner) also presented an introductory paper on the nature of interpretation, which is discussed below. The third meeting of the Study Group, which was held in Oslo in 2018, allowed the members of the Group to elaborate their draft reports with a view to submitting interim reports for the ILA Biennial Meeting in Sydney. At the ILA Biennial Meeting in Sydney, which was chaired by Professor Andrea K. Bjorklund, the interim report was introduced and discussed at its open session.

Keywords: International Courts, International Tribunals, interpretation, VCLT, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, treaty interperation

Suggested Citation

Merkouris, Panos and Pazartzis, Photini and Ulfstein, Geir and Peat, Daniel, Interim Report of the ILA Study Group on the Content and Evolution of the Rules of Interpretation (2018). F Pazartzis, G Ulfstein, P Merkouris & D Peat, ‘Interim Report of the ILA Study Group on the Content and Evolution of the Rules of Interpretation’ (ILA, 78th Biennial Conference, Sydney, 2018), University of Groningen Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 42/2020, PluriCourts Research Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3797697

Panos Merkouris (Contact Author)

University of Groningen - Faculty of Law ( email )

Oude Kijk in't Jatstraat 26
9700 AS Groningen, 9712 EK
Netherlands
+31 (0) 50 363 8258 (Phone)

Photini Pazartzis

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens - Faculty of Law ( email )

Athens
Greece

Geir Ulfstein

Faculty of Law, University of Oslo ( email )

PO Box 6706 St Olavsplass
Oslo, 0130
Norway

Pluricourts

Norway

Daniel Peat

Leiden University - Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies ( email )

Leiden University Law Faculty
P.O. Box 9520
Leiden, 2300 RA
Netherlands

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