The Interpretative Practice of the International Court of Justice

This article provides an overview of the interpretative practice of the International Court of Justice on the occasion of its 75th anniversary. Whilst the jurisprudence of the nascent icj played an important role in the formulation of Articles 31 to 33 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, we explore the extent to which the Court has followed the rubric of those articles over its existence, how the Court has understood the interpretative elements contained therein, and whether it has privileged certain elements over others. We argue that the Court has shown flexibility and context-specificity in its practice, both in terms of the interpretative approach adopted as well as the materials used.