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7 - Supplementary Means

A Dangerous Supplement?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2024

Andrea Bianchi
Affiliation:
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
Fuad Zarbiyev
Affiliation:
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
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Summary

Building on Derrida’s celebrated analysis of the term ‘supplement’, this chapter investigates the fundamental ambivalence of supplementary means of treaty interpretation. While the general philosophy of the Vienna Convention interpretive regime rests on the assumption of a hierarchy between the primary means set forth in Article 31 of the Vienna Convention and the supplementary means of Article 32, qualifying certain means as supplementary presumes that the primary interpretive means are somewhat lacking and in need of a complement. The chapter also focuses on the ‘danger’ of such supplement that has been highlighted in practice, namely, that supplementary means themselves need to be interpreted before they can be used in an interpretive inquiry, reinforcing the larger point made in the book that it is impossible to get an unmediated access to any signified. The chapter argues that since supplementary means are not comprehensively listed in the treaty interpretation regime, a virtually endless number of materials can be made relevant in treaty interpretation discourse through the channel of supplementary means.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Supplementary Means
  • Andrea Bianchi, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Fuad Zarbiyev, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
  • Book: Demystifying Treaty Interpretation
  • Online publication: 07 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108769730.008
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  • Supplementary Means
  • Andrea Bianchi, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Fuad Zarbiyev, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
  • Book: Demystifying Treaty Interpretation
  • Online publication: 07 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108769730.008
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Supplementary Means
  • Andrea Bianchi, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Fuad Zarbiyev, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
  • Book: Demystifying Treaty Interpretation
  • Online publication: 07 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108769730.008
Available formats
×