Home >
Law >
International Law >
The Interpretation of International Law by Domestic Courts: Uniformity, Diversity, Convergence

The Interpretation of International Law by Domestic Courts: Uniformity, Diversity, Convergence

Author: Helmut Philipp Aust; Georg Nolte
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780198738923
Published In: January 2016
Format: Hardback
Jurisdiction: International ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

List Price: HKD 1,560.00

HKD 1,513.20 Save HKD 46.80 (3%)

Download Order Form

Add to Wishlist
| Add to Compare

Description
Contents

Details

The Interpretation of International Law by Domestic Courts assesses the growing role of domestic courts in the interpretation of international law.

It asks whether and if so to what extent domestic courts make use of the international rules of interpretation set forth in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Given the expectation that rules of international law are to have a uniform interpretation and application throughout the world, the practice of domestic courts is considerably more diverse.

The contributions to this book analyse three key questions: first, whether international law requires a coherent interpretive approach by domestic courts. Second, whether a common or convergent methodological outlook can be found in domestic court practice. Third, whether a common interpretive approach is desirable from a normative perspective. The book identfies a considerable tension between international law's ambition for universal and uniform application and a plurality of different approaches. This tension between unity and diversity is analysed by a group of leading international lawyers from a wide range of geographical, disciplinary and methodological approaches.

Drawing on domestic practice of number of jurisdictions including, among others, Colombia, France, Japan, India, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States, the book puts the interpretative practice of domestic courts in a wider context. Its chapters offer doctrinal, practical as well as theoretical perspectives on a central question for international law.

1. Introduction

PART 1: FOUNDATIONS AND DOCTRINAL ASPECTS
2. The International Rules of Interpretation: Made for and Applied by Domestic Courts?
3. Grounds for the Application of International Rules of Interpretation in Domestic Courts
4. 'Contractual' and 'Statutory' Treaty Interpretation in Domestic Courts? Convergence around the Vienna Rules
5. Judicial Dialogue as a Means of Interpretation
6. The Role of the International Rules of Interpretation for the Determination of Direct Effect of International Agreements
7. The Interpretation of Unwritten International Law by Domestic Judges

PART 2: THE PRACTICE OF DOMESTIC COURTS IN CONTEXT
8. Interpretation of Treaties in an International Law-Friendly Framework: the Case of South Africa
9. The Law and Politics of the Pro Persona Principle in Latin America
10. Dynamic and Evolutive Interpretation of the ECHR by Domestic Courts? An Inquiry into the Judicial Architecture of Europe
11. Deference to the Executive: US Court Practice in Comparative Perspective
12. Gingerly walking on the VCLT frontier? Reflections from a survey on the interpretive approach of the Japanese courts to treaties
13. Treaty Interpretation in Indian Courts - Status, Coherence, and Convergence

PART 3: UNITY, DIVERSITY, CONVERGENCE: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES
14. Diffusion Theories and the Interpretive Approaches of Domestic Courts
15. Treaty Interpretation and Global Governance: the Role of Domestic Courts
16. National Courts and Interpretative Approaches to International Law: The Case Against Convergence
17. Between Universal Aspiration and Local Application: Concluding Observations