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European Human Rights Legal Research: Treaties

A guide to the Council of Europe documents, Convention materials, and the European Court of Human Rights.

Travaux Préparatoires and Commentaries

The "travaux preparatoires" is a phrase meaning the preparatory work of a treaty. Official documents produced during the negotiating history of a treaty are known as the "travaux préparatoires". Researchers, legal practitioners, courts and tribunals use these works when they want an interpretation of the meaning of an agreement or when they want to trace the evolution of an agreement.
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