Editing Treaty (section)

===Interpretation===
The language of treaties, like that of any law or contract, must be interpreted when the wording does not seem clear, or it is not immediately apparent how it should be applied in a perhaps unforeseen circumstance.<ref name=":7">Richard Gardiner, ''[https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/RelatedRecords/CR2018_04585.PDF Part II Interpretation Applying the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, A. The General Rule, 5. The General Rule: (1) The Treaty, its Terms, and their Ordinary Meaning]'', Treaty Interpretation (2nd Edition) </ref> The [[Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties|Vienna Convention]] states that treaties are to be interpreted "in good faith" according to the "ordinary meaning given to the terms of the treaty in their context and in the light of its object and purpose".<ref name=":7" /> International legal experts also often invoke the "principle of maximum effectiveness", which interprets treaty language as having the fullest force and effect possible to establish obligations between the parties.<ref>{{cite book| chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199546220.003.0012 | url=https://academic.oup.com/book/8401 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199546220.003.0012 | chapter=Treaty Interpretation: Effectiveness and Presumptions| title=The Interpretation of Acts and Rules in Public International Law| year=2008| last1=Orakhelashvili| first1=Alexander| pages=393–439| isbn=978-0-19-954622-0}}</ref>

No one party to a treaty can impose its particular interpretation of the treaty upon the other parties. Consent may be implied, however, if the other parties fail to explicitly disavow that initially unilateral interpretation, particularly if that state has acted upon its view of the treaty without complaint. Consent by all parties to the treaty to a particular interpretation has the legal effect of adding another clause to the treaty – this is commonly called an "authentic interpretation".<ref>Katharina Berne, [https://www.zaoerv.de/76_2016/76_2016_4_a_845_878.pdf Authentic Interpretation in Public International Law] (2016)</ref>

International tribunals and arbiters are often called upon to resolve substantial disputes over treaty interpretations. To establish the meaning in context, these judicial bodies may review the preparatory work from the negotiation and drafting of the treaty as well as the final, signed treaty itself.