I. Comment on the diagram. Make use of the helpful phrases.
Collocations:
to repay/fulfil/breach obligations
to reserve/to exercise right
within the purview/scope/framework of the legislature
to set aside/to discharge/to make a rule
to adopt/to opt for incorporation
Trends emerging among the legal systems of states
1 . Modalities of implementation
automatic standing legislative ad hoc
incorporation incorporation
statutory ad hoc automatic ad hoc
incorporation incorporation
2 . The rank of international rules, within domestic legal orders
on the same footing as national a status and rank higher
legislation of domestic origin than that of national legislation
Exigencies motivating states in their choice of the
Incorporation system
Statist nationalist
Give answers to the following questions.
Why are customary international rules treated as domestically binding?
What branch of power is to establish whether and to what extent a customary rule is binding within the legal system of a State?
What is the basic modality of customary rules implementation? What are the reasons for this choice of implementation?
What is the role of treaty-law?
How are rights of individuals intertwined with the discretionary power of States in treaty implementation?
Techniques of implementation
CUSTOMARY INTERNATIONAL LAW
National constitutions or statutes or judicial decisions of most States stipulate that customary international rules become domestically binding ipso facto, that is, by the mere fact of their evolving in the international community. As soon as they come into being in the world community international customary rules become binding within national legal systems. in addition they have, at the national level, the same content as that of the corresponding international rules.
The reason for the choice of this implementation system is self-evident: it is the only suitable one for rules that emerge gradually in the world community and whose content is not immediately definable. Were States to decide that a customary rule only becomes binding upon State officials and individuals after the enactment of a statute setting out the contents of such a rule, the parliamentary assembly would have to play a very difficult role, namely, to decide whether the customary rule has taken shape, and with what contents. Given the characteristics of customary law, it is far more fitting and practical to leave it to judges and other State officials to establish whether and to what extent a customary rule is binding within the legal system of a State.
Clearly, there may be customary rules that need to be supplemented by national legislation, in order for them to become operative at the domestic level. As an example of such non-self-executing customary rules, one may mention the rule providing that the maximum outer limit of the territorial sea should be 12 sea miles. Plainly, it is for each State to decide on the width of its territorial sea, by enacting national legislation or regulation on the matter.