The persuasive force of ancient and contemporary preambles: From Plato to International Law

The purpose of this article is to compare contemporary preambles, especially preambles to multilateral treaties, with the preambles theorized by Plato in the Laws. Our thesis is that preambles actually ‘persuade’ States to implement treaty provisions and to justify the adoption of international legal instruments before their people, exactly how it was argued by Plato in the Laws. In order to demonstrate this thesis, we will describe the main characteristics of Plato’s preambles and we will point out, providing textual evidence, their meaningfulness for the comprehension of contemporary preambles. The article stresses the persuasive force that moral emotions might have whether introduced in contemporary preambles.