Dr. J. Romesh Weeramantry
The rise of investment arbitration in the last decade has generated an unprecedented body of arbitral case law. The work of these arbitral tribunals has provided scholars and practitioners with public international law jurisprudence, including materials on treaty interpretation which has not yet
been thoroughly analysed.
This book evaluates the contribution of investment arbitration treaty interpretation jurisprudence to international law, covering all key aspects of treaty interpretation. Included in the book's coverage are awards which feature in prominent discussions or in
applications of treaty interpretation rules. Among the significant portion of arbitral awards analysed, which deal with investment treaties, are ICSID awards, ad hoc investment arbitration awards, NAFTA awards, and Energy Charter Treaty awards.
The extensive analysis of investment
arbitration awards and decisions has also been used to create a table highlighting both the references to principles of treaty interpretation and instances in which they were rejected. This invaluable insight into the practice of investment tribunals will be of interest to both practitioners and
academics alike.
Foreword by by Professor Michael Reisman, Yale Law School
1. Introduction
A: Overview
2. Treaty Interpretation: History and Background
A: Pre-Vienna Convention Treaty Interpretation Rules
B: Development of the Convention Rules
C: Criticism of the Convention Rules
D: Customary Status and FIAT Use of the Convention Rules
E:
Interpretation and Application Distinguished
F: Who May Interpret Treaties?
G: What May be Interpreted by the Convention Rules?
3. The General Rule of Treaty Interpretation
A: Introduction
B: Article 31(1)
C: Article 31(2)
D: Article 31(3)
E: Article 31(4)
4.
Supplementary Means of Interpretation
A: Article 32
B: Preparatory Work
C: Circumstances of a Treaty's Conclusion
D: Confirming a Meaning
E: Determining a Meaning
5. Non-Codified Means of Interpretation
A: Introduction
B: Use of Prior Awards and Decisions
C:
Treaties, Instruments, or Materials
D: Scholarly Opinion
E: Inter-Temporal Aspects
F: Principle of Effectiveness
G: Legal Maxims
6. Interpretation Jurisprudence Particular to Investment Arbitration
A: The AAP Rules
B: Failure to Apply Convention Rules
C: Unilateral
Declarations Consenting to Investment Arbitration
D: Umbrella Clauses
E: Most Favoured Nation Clauses
F: Disclosure of Preparatory Work
G: Pro-Investor Bias in Interpreting Investment Treaties?
H: Restrictive Interpretation
I: Pre-Arbitration Waiting Period
J:
Interpreting Silence
7. Conclusions
A: Conclusions on FIAT Treaty Interpretation Practice
B: Suitability of Convention Rules for Investor-State Disputes
C: Contribution of FIAT Practice to Internation Law
Appendices
I: Analytical Tables of FIAT Treaty Interpretation
Practice
II: Comparison between Articles 27-29 of the 1966 ILC Draft and Articles 31-33 of the Vienna Convention
III: Comparative Table of Draft Treaty Interpretation Rules
IV: Umbrella Clause Comparative Table
V: Selected ICJ Decisions Confirming Customary Status of the Convention
Rules
VI: Other Selected International Decisions Confirming Customary Status of the Convention Rules
VII: Selected Domestic Court Decisions Confirming Customary Status of the Convention Rules
There are no Instructor/Student Resources available at this time.
Romesh Weeramantry is an Associate Professor of Law at the City University of Hong Kong. Trained as a barrister in Australia, his professional experience includes work in international arbitration, dispute resolution and public international law at the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal (The
Hague), the United Nations Compensation Commission (Geneva) and at a leading Swiss law firm. As an independent consultant, his client work has involved preparing legal opinions and memoranda for international organisations, including the United Nations Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
He has also trained government officials from a number of countries on arbitration and foreign investment law. He was a founding Co-Chair of the Australasian Forum for International Arbitration (AFIA) and has been a Special Associate at the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration
(ACICA).
Making Sense - Margot Northey and Joan McKibbin
Treaty Interpretation - Richard Gardiner