Municipal Law vs International Law — KSLU Pil Notes

Municipal Law vs International Law

Monism vs Dualism

	Monism	Dualism
View	IL and municipal law are one legal order	IL and municipal law are separate systems
IL in courts	IL applies directly — self-executing	IL must be transformed into domestic law first
On conflict	IL prevails (Kelsen)	Domestic law prevails internally
Proponents	Kelsen, Lauterpacht	Triepel, Anzilotti
Example State	Netherlands — treaties self-executing	UK, India — dualist

India’s Approach — Dualist

flowchart LR
    TREATY[India signs a Treaty] --> PARLIAMENT[Parliament must enact legislation]
    PARLIAMENT --> DOMESTIC[Treaty becomes enforceable in Indian courts]
    TREATY -- Without enactment --> NOT[NOT enforceable in Indian courts]
    ART51[Art 51 - DPSP - Foster IL] --> DIRECTIVE[Directive, not justiciable]
    ART253[Art 253 - Parliament can legislate for any treaty] --> DOMESTIC

Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (1997): Supreme Court used CEDAW (an unratified convention) as guidance — not as binding law. Confirms India’s dualist approach but allows persuasive use.