Art.28 Authentic Texts

Subject(s):

Human rights remedies — Arms control — International trade — Humanitarian intervention — International peace and security

This chapter explores Article 28 of the ATT. The article defines all six official UN language versions of the text of the Convention as ‘equally’ authentic—Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish—despite the fact that most of the texts forming the basis of preparatory discussions and negotiations were in English. The particularities of English pose a problem with regard to the definition of some terms. For example, the word ‘overriding’, controversially included in Article 7(3), was clearly the basis for negotiations as the translations were amended so as to give equivalent effect to the term’s apparent balancing effect.