PrepTest 154, Section 3, Question 25

Working the answers

• A

  The lack of systematic studies doesn't establish that treaties cannot work until those studies are completed. Neither the author nor the scholars makes empirical research a prerequisite for effective treaties.

• B

  The author's recommendation favors greater attention to negotiations. But the scholars are still seeking a basis for court decisions in customary law; we aren't told they regard that route as less effective. This is not a view established for both sides.

• C

  Difficulty finding out whether a nation follows a principle isn't the same as finding that it doesn't follow the principle. The shared criterion concerns actual practice, not how easy that practice is to investigate. Neither side says that uncertainty by itself disqualifies a principle as a customary norm.

• D
  Correct

  Both accept actual practice as a requirement for a customary norm. If nations generally do not act in accordance with a principle, it fails that requirement, however often they praise it. The author is challenging the scholars by applying the criterion they themselves accept.

• E

  The author recommends studying how principles can contribute to treaties. That doesn't establish a required percentage of nations that must enact treaties before any reliable basis for deciding disputes can exist. The scholars aren't assigned that requirement either.