Moulding texts sufficiently ambiguous to allow for their application to unforeseen scenarios and diverse interpretations is a useful and sometimes an indispensable negotiating skill. It is particularly useful when drafting major constitutional documents or at crucial stages of negotiations where the gaps in the views of the parties with respect to specific issues threaten to become an obstacle to reaching an agreement. The legislative history of the Statute, beginning with its first draft by the International Law Commission, reveals the ambiguity versus clarity competition. The Commission viewed the Statute as, first and foremost, a multilateral treaty. The International Law Commission's approach also displeased the States. One of the most controversial provisions of the Statute, which was negotiated to the last day, is Article 12 on the precondition to jurisdiction. Article 12 sets a broad jurisdiction for the Court in accordance with which the Court may exercise jurisdiction.