LibGuides: International Law: Travaux Préparatoires

Locating Travaux Preparatoires

What are travaux preparatoire and how can I find them?

Travaux préparatoires are the documentary evidence of the negotiation, discussions, and drafting of a final treaty text. Travaux préparatoires may sometimes also be referred to as:

negotiating history
drafting history
preparatory documents

According to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, these documents can be used to supplement the interpretation of a treaty when the meaning is ambiguous or obscure when reading the treaty alone.

See "What are Travaux...", and "Ask Dag - Questions related to Travaux Preparatoire" Dag Hammerskold Library, Online:ask.un.org .

Preparatory documents exist for every treaty; however, these documents are published for only a limited number of treaties. The Law Library possesses several of these publications (e.g. UN Charter, Refugee Convention, European Convention on Human Rights, Convention on the Rights of the Child, Convention on the Law of Treaties, ICCPR, Protocols to the Geneva Conventions, Unidroit conventions).

In addition, some treaty secretariats publish preparatory and implementation documents on their Internet site. When a treaty has been concluded within the framework of an international organization, you should also check the website of that organization.

When the International Law Commission has been involved in drafting a convention, you can find reports on the preparatory work in the Yearbook of the International Law Commission (JX 1261 U58) and on its website. Another helpful guide is the 3-volume publication The International Law Commission, 1949-1998, by Arthur Watts (JX 1261 U58 I61)

Finally, it is important to do background reading in secondary sources (monographs, journal articles, case law). These could contain references to a treaty's travaux préparatoires.

Books

Berlingieri on the Arrests of Ships by Francesco Berlingieri
Call Number: DAL Dunn Law Library JX 4449 .S4 B51 2006
ISBN: 1843115506
Publication Date: 2006
Berlingieri on Arrest of Ships is an invaluable source of information, detailing the claims in respect of which a ship may be arrested, the conditions for obtaining an order of arrest, the need for a security, the manner by which the ship that has been arrested may be released, the possibility of a multiple arrest and the jurisdiction on the merits. Also available online.
Collected Edition of the "Travaux Preparatoires" of the European Convention on Human Rights by Council of Europe, Directorate of Human Rights Staff (Editor)
Call Number: DAL Dunn Law Library JX 1980.C62 C852
ISBN: 902472810X
Publication Date: 1985
A French and English collection of Travaux Preparatoires created by the Council of Europe.
Genocide Convention by Hirad Abtahi; Philippa Webb
Call Number: DAL Dunn Law Library JX 5418 A16 and online via NovaNet
ISBN: 9789047431374
Publication Date: 2008
This work gathers together for the first time in a single publication the records of the multitude of meetings which, in the context of the newly established United Nations, led to the adoption of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide on 9 December 1948. This work will enable academics and practitioners easy access to the Genocide Convention’s travaux préparatoires – an endeavour that has until now proven extremely difficult. This work will be of paramount importance for the international adjudication of the crime of genocide insofar as recourse to the “general rule of interpretation” and the “supplementary means of interpretation” under the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties is concerned.
Travaux Préparatoires of the Negotiations for the Elaboration of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
Call Number: Online via NovaNet
ISBN: 9210544889
Publication Date: 2011
Contains the travaux préparatoires (official records) of the negotiations for the elaboration of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 58/4 of 31 October 2003. The purpose of the publication is to track the progress of the negotiations in the open-ended intergovernmental Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of a Convention against Corruption, which was established by the General Assembly in its resolution 55/61 of 4 December 2000, with terms of reference that were taken note of by the Assembly in its resolution 56/260 of 31 January 2002. It is intended to provide a comprehensive picture of the background to the Convention and, by presenting the evolution of the text, to give the reader an understanding of the issues confronted by the Ad Hoc Committee and the solutions it found. Thus, this publication is intended to provide a better, in-depth understanding of the Convention.
The Refugees Convention, 1951: the Travaux Préparatoires Analysed, with a Commentary by Paul Weis (Editor)
Call Number: DAL Dunn Law Library JX 4292.R4 R333
ISBN: 0521472954
Publication Date: 1995
This work provides the first authoritative commentary on articles 2-37 of the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees and is essential reading for practitioners, academics and researchers in the field of refugee protection. The Convention, which provides the basic definition and enshrines the rights of the refugee, remains the cornerstone of protection throughout the world. The commentary graphically illustrates the issues raised by the refugee problem for the International Community of the time and provides a valuable point of reference through the similarities it reveals to the issues arising out of many refugee questions today. It is a unique research resource containing comments and debates of representatives of those states who cooperated with the drafting of the Convention. The author's direct participation in the process which led to the adoption of the Convention by the UN has enabled him to provide an invaluable guide to the understanding of the text.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child by Sharon Detrick (Editor); Nigel Cantwell; Jaap Doek
Call Number: DAL Dunn Law Library JX 4000 U573
ISBN: 0792316711
Publication Date: 1992
This book provides a commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 20 November 1989. "Part One" contains a general introduction to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and deals with matters such as the drafting history, the contents, direct application, horizontal effects, limitations, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention's final provisions. "Part Two" contains an article-by-article commentary, the aim of which is not to give an interpretation of the precise nature and scope of States parties' obligations but, rather, to identify the materials, or sources, which provide guidance in that regard. In the identification of such materials, attention has been paid to the general rules of treaty interpretation, as set forth in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.