Research On The Application Of The Principle Of Effective Interpretation Of Treaties In International Dispute Settlement

As a basic principle of treaty interpretation,although the principle of effective interpretation is not included in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties（hereinafter referred to as VCLT）,it is also the necessary meaning of article 31 of the VCLT,that is,the general principles of treaty interpretation.Based on this,the subject of treaty interpretation have to definite the relationship between the principle of effective interpretation and the specific principles in article 31 of the VCLT to ensure that the principle is correctly applied in the practice of treaty interpretation and to draw reasonable interpretation conclusions,so that international disputes can be effectively resolved.With regard to the theoretical basis of the principle of effective interpretation,since Grotius,many scholars of international law have studied content related to the effective interpretation of treaties,forming their own systematic views or theories on effective interpretation.Moreover,the principle of effective interpretation has also been adopted by the International Court of Justice（hereinafter referred to as ICJ）,the WTO Appellate Body and the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes（hereinafter referred to as ICSID）in the interpretation of treaties.However,it should be noted that in international dispute settlement,the practice of the principle of effective interpretation also reflects some problems:First,when applying the principle of effective interpretation to the interpretation of treaties,the subject of interpretation ignores the general principle of treaty interpretation with the text as the starting point of interpretation,so that it excessively pursues“effect”but does not explain the provisions of the treaty in the correct direction,and the resulting interpretation results may exceed the original meaning of the text of the treaty.Second,some international judicial bodies have not provided stable and relatively consistent jurisprudence for the settlement of similar disputes in their respective practices of applying the principle of effective interpretation.In this way,when the subject of interpretation cannot clarify whether a valid interpretation is applicable to a dispute,there may be issues of exceeding its scope of application or other incorrect application,which is not conducive to the effective settlement of the dispute.Finally,the subject of treaty interpretation sometimes determines that the terms of the dispute relate to the reasons for interpretation based only on the meaning specified in the principle of validity interpretation,which leads to a confusing logic of application.Based on this,it is particularly important to conduct an in-depth analysis of the practice of applying the principle of effective explanation based on the relevant theories of the principle of effective explanation,so as to propose problems in its application and actively explore solutions.Therefore,the structure of the research on the application of the principle of effective interpretation in international dispute settlement is as follows:The first chapter mainly expounds the connotation of the principle of effective interpretation and its theoretical basis.This chapter will first elaborate on the connotations of the principle of effective interpretation and,on the basis of the aforementioned theoretical basis,the relationship between the principle of effective interpretation and the general principles of treaty interpretation.Chapter two focuses on the international practice of applying the principle of effective interpretation.This chapter conducts an empirical study of the ICJ,the WTO Appellate Body and the ICSID,which are three specific classifications of practice of international judicial bodies that are primarily concerned with the application of the principle of effective interpretation,based on the clear views of the international judiciary described above on this principle.Chapter Ⅲ is based on the theoretical basis and practical research of the first two chapters,and finds out the problems in the application of the principle of effective treaty interpretation in international dispute settlement.First,the interpreter improperly applies the principle of effective interpretation and excessively pursues“effect”,resulting in the interpretation result exceeding the original meaning of the treaty text.Secondly,in their respective practices regarding the application of the principle of effective interpretation,international judicial bodies have not made clear the scope of application of the principle,so that relatively consistent precedents have not been formed for similar disputes,that is,the judgment lacks stability.Thirdly,the subject of interpretation ignores the principle of interpretation as a whole,so that it lacks logical self-consistency in the process of applying the principle of effective interpretation.Chapter Ⅳ provides some suggestions for solutions based on the problems described in the previous chapter.First,the general principles of treaty interpretation are used as the criterion to determine whether the interpretation conclusions drawn on the basis of the principle of effective interpretation go beyond the meaning of the text of the treaty itself.Secondly,the subject of interpretation should identify the nature of the clauses involved in the dispute,and clarify the scope of application of the principle of effective interpretation,so that it can play a coordinating role in the dispute involved and give it its established effect and meaning.Finally,the subject of interpretation should comprehensively apply the principles and methods of interpretation in the VLT in practice from a holistic and macroscopic perspective,including the principle of effective interpretation,so as to play its corresponding role in the practice of treaty interpretation and achieve effective dispute resolution.