Part VI Human Rights and General International Law, Ch.31 Interpretation of Human Rights Treaties

Subject(s):

Treaties, interpretation — Lex specialis — Customary international law — Unilateral acts — Erga omnes obligations — Peremptory norms / ius cogens — Advisory opinions — Margin of appreciation

This article examines the systems of interpretation of several international human rights treaties by their respective human rights tribunals. It describes some approaches to the classification of human rights treaties and discusses the relevant provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969 (VCLT). It also reviews the jurisprudence of human rights tribunals on main human rights issues and analyses the provisions of human rights conventions relating to interpretation.