Treaty interpretation, Multilingualism, and the WTO Dispute Settlement System: Towards the Comparative Translation Paradigm?

Federico Ortino; Costanza Margiotta Broglio

Treaty interpretation, Multilingualism, and the WTO Dispute Settlement System: Towards the Comparative Translation Paradigm?

Federico Ortino, Costanza Margiotta Broglio

Laws

University of Padua

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

95 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Despite a growing emphasis on the interpretive methods employed by international courts and tribunals driven by their potential to address the issue of international law fragmentation, the multilingual aspect of interpretation, codified in Article 33 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), has received the least amount of attention from international lawyers. However, the multilingual complexity, rarely found in national legal systems, is precisely one of the reasons scholars of legal interpretation are fascinated by international law. Based on a critical review of the VCLT approach to the interpretation of multilingual treaties, this work argues for an alternative approach, which we refer to as the ‘comparative translation’ paradigm. In addition to putting forward a normative case in favour of this alternative approach, we also aim to show how the World Trade Organization dispute settlement organs have started, at least to some extent, to embrace the new paradigm.

Original language	English
Journal	Journal of International Dispute Settlement
Publication status	Accepted/In press - 12 Jul 2024

Access to Document

Multilingual treaty interpretation (July 2024)Accepted author manuscript, 380 KB

Cite this

@article{53671f551a1b487db08a5501c4550980,

title = "Treaty interpretation, Multilingualism, and the WTO Dispute Settlement System: Towards the Comparative Translation Paradigm?",

abstract = "Despite a growing emphasis on the interpretive methods employed by international courts and tribunals driven by their potential to address the issue of international law fragmentation, the multilingual aspect of interpretation, codified in Article 33 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), has received the least amount of attention from international lawyers. However, the multilingual complexity, rarely found in national legal systems, is precisely one of the reasons scholars of legal interpretation are fascinated by international law. Based on a critical review of the VCLT approach to the interpretation of multilingual treaties, this work argues for an alternative approach, which we refer to as the {\textquoteleft}comparative translation{\textquoteright} paradigm. In addition to putting forward a normative case in favour of this alternative approach, we also aim to show how the World Trade Organization dispute settlement organs have started, at least to some extent, to embrace the new paradigm.",

author = "Federico Ortino and {Margiotta Broglio}, Costanza",

year = "2024",

month = jul,

day = "12",

language = "English",

journal = "Journal of International Dispute Settlement",

issn = "2040-3585",

publisher = "Oxford University Press",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Treaty interpretation, Multilingualism, and the WTO Dispute Settlement System

T2 - Towards the Comparative Translation Paradigm?

AU - Ortino, Federico

AU - Margiotta Broglio, Costanza

PY - 2024/7/12

Y1 - 2024/7/12

N2 - Despite a growing emphasis on the interpretive methods employed by international courts and tribunals driven by their potential to address the issue of international law fragmentation, the multilingual aspect of interpretation, codified in Article 33 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), has received the least amount of attention from international lawyers. However, the multilingual complexity, rarely found in national legal systems, is precisely one of the reasons scholars of legal interpretation are fascinated by international law. Based on a critical review of the VCLT approach to the interpretation of multilingual treaties, this work argues for an alternative approach, which we refer to as the ‘comparative translation’ paradigm. In addition to putting forward a normative case in favour of this alternative approach, we also aim to show how the World Trade Organization dispute settlement organs have started, at least to some extent, to embrace the new paradigm.

AB - Despite a growing emphasis on the interpretive methods employed by international courts and tribunals driven by their potential to address the issue of international law fragmentation, the multilingual aspect of interpretation, codified in Article 33 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), has received the least amount of attention from international lawyers. However, the multilingual complexity, rarely found in national legal systems, is precisely one of the reasons scholars of legal interpretation are fascinated by international law. Based on a critical review of the VCLT approach to the interpretation of multilingual treaties, this work argues for an alternative approach, which we refer to as the ‘comparative translation’ paradigm. In addition to putting forward a normative case in favour of this alternative approach, we also aim to show how the World Trade Organization dispute settlement organs have started, at least to some extent, to embrace the new paradigm.

M3 - Article

SN - 2040-3585

JO - Journal of International Dispute Settlement

JF - Journal of International Dispute Settlement

ER -

Treaty interpretation, Multilingualism, and the WTO Dispute Settlement System: Towards the Comparative Translation Paradigm?

Abstract

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this