The evolutionary interpretation of treaties has proven in recent times to be one of the most controversial topics of the law of treaties. The reason for this is that the evolutionary interpretation of treaties has been seen as going against the very grain of the law of treaties. Given this controversy, this book asks: what is the place of the evolutionary interpretation within the law of treaties? The book places the evolutionary interpretation of treaties on a firm footing within the Vienna rules of treaty interpretation, as codified in Articles 31–33 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Tr ... More

The evolutionary interpretation of treaties has proven in recent times to be one of the most controversial topics of the law of treaties. The reason for this is that the evolutionary interpretation of treaties has been seen as going against the very grain of the law of treaties. Given this controversy, this book asks: what is the place of the evolutionary interpretation within the law of treaties? The book places the evolutionary interpretation of treaties on a firm footing within the Vienna rules of treaty interpretation, as codified in Articles 31–33 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT). Across the board, these rules are taken by international courts and tribunals to be the gold standard of treaty interpretation, and the book brings out how the approach by different courts is uniform and coherent, rather than fragmented. Against this background the book shows that the evolutionary interpretation of treaties—in common with all other types of interpretation—is based upon an objective understanding of the intention of the parties. In order to marry intention and evolution, the book shows that, on the one hand, evolutionary interpretation is the product of the correct application of Articles 31–33 and, on the other, that the rules of treaty interpretation are geared towards the establishment of the intention of the parties. The evolutionary interpretation of treaties represents the acknowledgment on the part of the treaty interpreter of an evolution intended by the parties to the treaty.