The travaux préparatoires ( French: "preparatory works", in the

plural In many languages, a plural (sometimes list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated as pl., pl, , or ), is one of the values of the grammatical number, grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than ...

) are the official record of a

negotiation Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more parties to resolve points of difference, gain an advantage for an individual or Collective bargaining, collective, or craft outcomes to satisfy various interests. The parties aspire to agree on m ...

. Sometimes published, the "travaux" are often useful in clarifying the intentions of a

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

or other instrument, as is reflected in Article 32 of the

Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) is an international agreement that regulates treaties among sovereign states. Known as the "treaty on treaties", the VCLT establishes comprehensive, operational guidelines, rules, and proced ...

(VCLT). To interpret treaties, the VCLT places this form of interpretation as secondary to the ordinary meaning (see Articles 31 and 32). In the Sigurjonsson v. Iceland case, the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

noted that the use of the travaux préparatoires in the earlier Young James and Wester case was not decisive but merely provided a working hypothesis. The preparatory work was legitimately invoked by the European Commission to show that the provision that "Every shall be free to leave any country, including his own", does not entitle a convicted prisoner to leave the country in which he is lawfully detained. An example of such interpretation was provided by

Lord Diplock William John Kenneth Diplock, Baron Diplock, (8 December 1907 – 14 October 1985) was a British barrister and judge who served as a lord of appeal in ordinary between 1968 and until his death in 1985. Appointed to the English High Court in ...

in the case ''Fothergill v Monarch Airlines Ltd'' 981 The ''travaux préparatoires'' are often available to the public on websites created for a specific treaty (such as the

Rome Statute The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy on 17 July 1998Michael P. Scharf (August 1998)''Results of the R ...

) or on the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

website. The most well-known ''travaux'' are associated with the drafting of the

Genocide Convention The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG), or the Genocide Convention, is an international treaty that criminalizes genocide and obligates state parties to pursue the enforcement of its prohibition. It was ...

References

Bibliography

* Jonathon Green, Dictionary of Jargon, Routledge, 1987, , p. 567. French legal terminology {{law-term-stub