André-Philippe Ouellet

Institution: Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

Period of stay: January - July 2024

Contact: https://www.graduateinstitute.ch/discover-institute/andre-philippe-ouellet

Email: andre-philippe.ouellet@graduateinstitute.ch

Profile:

André-Philippe Ouellet is an international law PhD Candidate at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, a Swiss National Science Foundation Doc. Ch researcher and a doctoral fellow of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. His PhD research focuses on the notion and role of the object and purpose in treaty law (operation, interpretation and termination).

Until recently he was a visiting researcher at the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law (September and December 2023). He worked as a legal assistant for a former Chairman of the UN International Law Commission, law professors in Geneva and Montreal and has been coaching the Graduate Institute’s Jessup mooting team since 2021. His publications and communications (in English, French and Spanish) relate to international economic law, international organizations and human rights law. He is also involved with the Réseau francophone de droit international which organizes the Charles Rousseau International Law Moot Court Competition.

Mr Ouellet also completed a master’s degree in international law at the Graduate Institute. Prior to studying in Geneva, he completed a degree in international relations and international law at the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Research Area:

Sources of International Law, International Organizations, Territorial and Maritime Disputes, Self-Determination, International Courts and Tribunals

Research Title:

The Role of the Object and Purpose in the Law of Treaties

Research Outline:

The interpretation process and the way treaties operate have a very concrete impact on how governments assume treaty obligations. One of the most flexible notions to reach a sensible interpretation is the notion of object and purpose (O&P). Apart from the interpretive function itself, the O&P also fulfils two additional—yet still cardinal—functions. In the 1969 and 1986 Conventions it first serves as a source of positive obligations and, second, as an interpretative benchmark. Third, the O&P serves as a legality benchmark in the three conventions (1969, 1978 and 1986) composing the Vienna Triptych on the law of treaties.

This thesis project aims to assess and clarify the O&P identification process, uses, influence on treaty regimes, and treatment by assessing the practice of states, international organizations (IOs) as well as the judicial practice of international courts and tribunals. This project aims not only to report on the state of positive law but also to theorize how the O&P should be construed. One of the broader philosophical questions is, ‘do the ends justify the means?’, i.e., how to find a balance between ‘objects’ and ‘purposes’ when identifying the O&P and the power it wields.

Publications:

1. “Le droit du développement, un cheminement bien personnel : évolution et accroissement de ce corpus de normes à la Banque mondiale grâce aux initiatives d’anciens Présidents du groupe de la Banque mondiale” (With G. Marceau) in P-F Mercure, et al. (dir.) Le droit international du développement : évolution ou révolution? Hommage au professeur Hervé Cassan, Paris, Pedone, 29 (forthcoming in 2024).
2. "Vladimir-Đuro Degan" (2023), in F Latty (dir.), Galerie des internationalistes, Société française pour le droit international (forthcoming on SFDI’s website).
3. “IGOs’ Initiatives in Times of Crisis and Unforeseen Needs” (2022) (With N. Bonucci, G. Marceau and R. Walker), 19:2 IOLR 423.
4. “Assisting Uzbekistan’s Parliament with Specific Issues Pertaining to Uzbekistan’s WTO Accession Process” (with I. Baftijari and A. Lim) TradeLab/Graduate Institute Papers. (Available: https://www.graduateinstitute.ch/library/publications-institute/assistin...).
5. “L’objet et le but particulier en matière d’interprétation” (2021) Graduate Institute, Sup. Pr. M. Kohen (non-published; available: https://repository.graduate institute.ch/.
6. “L’exception de sécurité du GATT sous le prisme des surtaxes américaines sur l’acier et l’aluminium : une analyse à l’aune du rapport du Groupe spécial dans l’affaire Russie—Trafic en transit” (2019) (with M. Foucault and S. Warnier) 32:2 QJIL 243.
7. “L’échapper belle, AMPA ou MPIA : Quatre lettres au secours du système de règlement des différends à l’OMC” (2019) (with N. Gervais) 32:2 QJIL 29.
8. Book Review, Malgosia Fitzmaurice and Panos Merkouris, Treaties in Motion: The Evolution of Treaties From Formation to Termination, (2021) 58 CYIL 658.

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