Intertemporal Linguistics in International Law

<p><i>Intertemporal Linguistics in International Law</i> examines and offers an overdue solution to a specific problem central to the resolution of an ever increasing number of international legal disputes: how to interpret a treaty with terms that change in meaning over time. <p/>A wide-ranging review of the relevant international case law and scholarship reveals that no rule principle or authority of international law - including even the oft-cited evolutionary interpretation doctrine - provides international adjudicators with the firm and practical guidance on this specific question that contemporary international litigants demand. <p/>Using an analytical approach inspired by the comparative method and drawing on specific concepts from external fields including private law legal theory and principally modern-day linguistics <i>Intertemporal Linguistics in International Law </i>restructures the most relevant international case law around a new conceptual framework that offers fresh insight into the process of treaty interpretation. It demonstrates that by distinguishing between resolving ambiguity and resolving vagueness and by identifying the temporal sense-intention with which a treaty term is used international adjudicators can avail themselves of a more predictable and appropriate method for solving this complex and practically important problem of international law.</p>