Law Commons^™

Treaty Interpretation From A Negotiator's Perspective, Kenneth J. Vandevelde

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The international law of treaty interpretation is based on the perspective of an objective third party, such as a court, seeking to interpret an agreement after it has been negotiated. The result is a legal regime that attempts unnecessarily to apply a uniform approach to all treaty provisions and which places primary emphasis on resolving disputes rather than on enforcing the parties' intent. This approach takes insufficient account of the actual process of treaty negotiation, undercuts the legitimacy of the court's interpretation and potentially diminishes the effectiveness of treaties as a means of governing international relations. International law needs a …

Custom And Treaty: A Response To Professor Weisburd, Anthony D'Amato

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Arthur M. Weisburd's article, "Customary International Law: The Problem of Treaties", focuses on an important problem that has been relatively overlooked: whether current doctrinal scholarship accords too much weight to treaties as constitutive of customary practice. Few issues in international law are more important than the question of where an international rule comes from and how it is proved. Professor Weisburd has addressed a significant component of this basic question. Since he regards me as the leading offender among writers who overdetermine the value of treaties, I would like to take this opportunity to respond.

As a preliminary matter, I …