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Vol. 35 (2015)
General Articles

Interpretation of Secondary Instruments in International Law

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  • Daniel Costelloe,
  • Malgosia Fitzmaurice
Daniel Costelloe
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
Malgosia Fitzmaurice
University of London

Published 2016-06-30

Keywords

  • conference of the parties,
  • International Maritime Organization,
  • International Seabed Authority,
  • International Whaling Commission,
  • interpretation,
  • multilateral environmental treaty,
  • secondary instrument,
  • Security Council,
  • VCLT
    • ...More
    Less

Copyright (c) 2016 ILS PAS

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Interpretation of Secondary Instruments in International Law. (2016). Polish Yearbook of International Law, 35, 47-82. https://doi.org/10.7420/pyil2015b

Abstract

This article explores the legal principles that govern the interpretation of “secondary instruments” in international law. A “secondary instrument” under international law is, for the purposes of this article, a written document adopted by a body empowered by a treaty to take action with respect to the treaty, but which is not itself a treaty. Such instruments find increasing application in international law. The article specifically examines the interpretation of secondary instruments arising in five settings in international practice: the United Nations Security Council, the International Maritime Organization, the International Seabed Authority, the International Whaling Commission, and conferences/meetings of the parties under multilateral treaties. This selection of practice will serve to illustrate principles of interpretation across a range of international institutional settings for the purpose of determining the rights and obligations of state-parties to a treaty regime.

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