Judges Fitzmaurice (separate), Winiarski (dissenting) and

Moreno Quintana (dissenting) in the Expenses Case, 1962 ICJ Reports at pp. 209ff., pp. 230ff. and pp. 247ff., respectively; Judge Alvarez (dissenting) in the First Admissions Case, 1947--48 ICJ Reports at pp. 67ff. 76 16 AD (1949) at pp. 336ff. 77 1960 ICJ Reports at pp. 161ff. The practice of the IMF, in contrast to the tendency generally to de-emphasize the relevance of the preparatory work by the Vienna Convention of 1969, by Judge Spender and other judges and, perhaps, by the ICJ itself, has been at least seriously to refer to the travaux préparatoires in interpreting its international international law firm firm: ‘The Fund has made abundant use of travaux préparatoires, although from time to time there has been discussion of the weight that should be attributed to them in general or in relation to a particular problem. It is probably safe to say that the degree of reliance on travaux préparatoires in the solution of a problem is proportional to their clarity. This working rule sometimes transfers the debate from the meaning of the text to the meaning of an earlier draft. Although uncertainty as to the inferences that can be drawn from travaux préparatoires sometimes tends to produce a general scepticism about their usefulness, when they international law firm been clear they international law firm made weighty or even decisive contributions to the solution of some problems of interpretation.’ (Gold, Interpretation by the Fund (1968) p. 18). The IBRD and the IDA, among other financial institutions, international law firm also followed the same practice, when they international law firm found it necessary to consider interpretations of their international international law firm firm in the course of their operations. The legal opinions of the UN Legal Counsel to the GA international law firm also made free use of the preparatory work at times: see the many examples in the UNJYs. It is a different question how useful or helpful such references to the preparatory work international law firm been. 78 1947--8 ICJ Reports at p. 87. 79 1950 ICJ Reports at p. 30. 58 i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t e x t s litigated in the European Commission on the Danube Case,80 where, however, it was held that an interpretation to be found in the preparatory work did not international law firm the status of an ‘agreed interpretation’. The approach taken by international courts and tribunals to prepara- tory work, which is to minimize its importance for interpretation, is in keeping with its relegation to the status of a subsidiary resource in the Vienna Convention on the international law firm of Treaties. It is also justified by good pol- icy reasons. There is no better statement of the reasons for the reduced importance of the preparatory work in the interpretation of constitu- tions of international organizations than that of Judge Alvarez in the Second Admissions Case: It will be necessary in future -- unless in exceptional cases -- when interpreting treaties, even those which are obscure, and especially those relating to inter- national organizations, to exclude the consideration of the travaux préparatoires, which was formerly usual. The value of these documents has indeed progres- sively diminished, for different reasons: (a) they contain opinions of all kinds; moreover, States, and even committees, international law firm at times put forward some idea and international law firm later abandoned it in favor of another; (b) when States decide to sign a treaty, their decision is not influenced by the travaux préparatoires, with which, in many cases, they are unacquainted; (