Interpretation of treaties according to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties is the primary international treaty that sets out rules for treaty interpretation. The rules of interpretation of treaties are regulated in Articles 31 to 33 of this Convention. A treaty should be interpreted in good faith, considering the ordinary meaning of its terms within their context, and taking into account the treaty's overall object and purpose. According to this rule, the interpretation must be applied in a single combined transaction, taking into account all these elements. Supplementary means of interpretation, such as the treaty's preparatory work and the circumstances of its conclusion, can be used to confirm or clarify the meaning of a treaty when the general rule of interpretation is ambiguous, obscure, absurd, or unreasonable. According to the Vienna Convention, treaties that are written in two or more languages are considered to have the same meaning in each language and any text in any of the languages is considered to be of equal validity.