Izvorni znanstveni članak
Interpretative Declarations to Treaties
Trpimir M. Šošić
; Pravni fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
In 2011, after many years of work and study, the International Law Commission (ILC) adopted the comprehensive Guide to Practice on Reservations to Treaties. This paper aims to revisit the issue of interpretative declarations to treaties in the light of the relevant guidelines contained in the Guide to Practice. Although interpretative declarations have been used by states in treaty practice for a long time, the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) remained entirely silent on the matter. On the other hand, a fair number of the VCLT’s provisions were dedicated to reservations, with which interpretative declarations are often confounded. In the first part the VCLT’s definition of reservations is analysed and used as a point of reference for the ensuing discussion on the legal nature of interpretative declarations. In that respect, the definition of interpretative declarations as enunciated in the ILC’s Guide to Practice is of particular interest. Thereafter, the most important aspects of the legal regime for interpretative declarations, as propounded by the ILC, are tackled in some detail. Thus, the specific notion of “conditional interpretative declarations” is explained, whose regime, according to the ILC, is to be assimilated to the one in place for reservations. Conversely, “simple interpretative declarations”, considering that they constitute a proposed interpretation of a treaty, albeit a unilateral one, should essentially be subject to the VCLT’s rules regarding the interpretation of treaties. Given that states, for various reasons, often use the concept of interpretative declarations in order to disguise statements, which in fact amount to reservations, special attention is devoted to the method of determining the distinction between reservations and interpretative declarations. Indeed, as emphasised in the conclusion of this essay, it is a significant contribution of the Guide to Practice that it has helped to clarify the confusion regarding the legal nature of interpretative declarations. It is to be expected that the pertinent guidelines on interpretative declarations will influence state practice and prompt further crystallisation of customary international law in the field.
Ključne riječi
treaties; reservations; interpretative declarations; International Law Commission
Hrčak ID:
128148
URI
Datum izdavanja:
15.9.2014.
Posjeta: 3.695 *