The Uniform Interpretation of International Conventions in the Context of Private International Law "Analytical Study"

Abstract

This research addresses a major problem in the field of private international law and international trade: the challenges hindering the unified interpretation and cross-border application of private international agreements. It highlights the need to adopt cross-border methodological mechanisms that ensure consistency in rulings and eliminate discrepancies arising from differences in national legislation. National courts often tend to interpret international agreements with a purely national bias, imposing procedural and substantive concepts of domestic law. This leads to fragmented interpretation and undermines the agreements' fundamental purpose of unifying rulings. Therefore, this research posits that overcoming this problem and achieving unified application requires abandoning national bias in interpretation and adopting an autonomous interpretation methodology for private law agreements. It also necessitates assigning an active role to international commercial arbitration bodies, relying on case law and comparative analysis, and supported by explicit national legislation that guides judges and protects the international character of the texts. The research reached several conclusions, perhaps the most important of which is that protecting the international character of private law agreements requires severing the link between agreement terms and narrow local meanings, and adopting "independent interpretation" as an objective approach that derives its spirit from the intent and preamble of the agreement. The research also reached a number of recommendations, the most important of which is calling on the Iraqi legislature to add a legislative article within the provisions on conflict of laws in the Civil Code. This article would serve as a mandatory reference rule guiding judges toward the necessity of adopting "independent interpretation," taking into account the international character of agreements in force in Iraq, and prohibiting the imposition of domestic concepts upon them. The research also recommends establishing national platforms for documenting judicial precedents and training judicial personnel.