Article 31(3)(c) of the VCLT and the principle of systemic integration
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The proliferation of international courts and tribunals combined with the expansion of
the areas and density of regulation of international law has given rise to a debate on
the issue of fragmentation of international law. Within this context and as a possible
response to this fear of fragmentation, the issue of interpretation with specific
reference to Article 31(3)(c) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties has
come to the forefront.
The overarching aim of the present thesis entitled ‘Article 31(3)(c) of the
VCLT and the Principle of Systemic Integration’ is to provide a comprehensive
analysis of the content and the function of Article 31(3)(c) both as a conventional and
as a customary rule (i.e. as principle of systemic integration). To this end, the thesis
adopts a two-pronged approach. In the first Part of this thesis the analysis is based on
the text of the provision itself, both on its written and unwritten elements
(intertemporal law considerations). This analysis demonstrates that a proper
understanding of Article 31(3)(c) leads us to the adoption of the proximity criterion as
the only appropriate in the application of Article 31(3)(c).
Having concluded the textual analysis, the thesis then, in the second Part,
considers Article 31(3)(c) from a different vantage point. It examines Article 31(3)(c)
from the more general perspective of the system as a whole and analyses what the
effects of more systemic considerations to the content of Article 31(3)(c) are. Within
these parameters two issues arise: i) The principles of conflict resolution, which the
thesis proves can be applied, in certain scenarios, in the interpretative process of
Article 31(3)(c) and ii) more importantly the notion of interpretation of customary
law. The relevant Chapter establishes that customary international law can be the
object of interpretation and in such an interpretation Article 31(3)(c), as custom, plays
a pivotal role.
Through this approach, both from a textual and a systemic perspective, the
thesis offers a new and complete understanding of Article 31(3)(c) in all its
manifestations and spheres of application.
Authors
Merkouris, PanagiotisCollections
- Theses [4235]