The ILC study on teachings as subsidiary means: arguments for a pluralist reading

Borda, Aldo Zammit, Mandelbaum, Stefan and Pelliconi, Andrea Maria (2026) The ILC study on teachings as subsidiary means: arguments for a pluralist reading. American Journal of International Law, 120 (2), 322 - 342. (doi:10.1017/ajil.2026.10154).

Record type: Article

Abstract

A key finding to emerge from the ongoing work of the special rapporteur of the International Law Commission (ILC or Commission) on subsidiary means for the determination of rules of international law1 concerns the systemic lack of diversity in the use of teachings. This finding carries important implications for the legitimacy of using subsidiary means, particularly regarding whose voices are privileged or silenced in legal determination. The special rapporteur noted that international courts such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had used teachings from a remarkably narrow cohort of predominantly Western, male voices from elite institutions—perspectives that inevitably reflect a limited range of viewpoints and cultural contexts.

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