International Law and Domestic Legal Systems: Incorporation, Transformation, and Persuasion

by Dinah Shelton (Editor)

Overview

Different countries incorporate and interpret international law in different ways. This book provides a systematic analysis of the domestic constitutional regime of over two dozen countries, setting out the status accorded to international law in those countries and its normative weight, as well as problems relating to its implementation. This country-by-country comparison allows the book to examine how the international legal order and domestic legal systems interact and influence each other. Through a series of chapters on the role of international law in 27 countries throughout the world, it shows a growing tendency towards greater democratic participation in treaty-making coupled with a significant utilization of informal agreements that by-pass such participation, as well as a role for non-binding normative instruments as persuasive authority in domestic judicial decision-making. The chapters suggest a stronger attachment to international law in legal systems that have survived a period of repression, resulting in many cases in a higher normative status for international human rights instruments in those states. The impact of the European Union on the constitutional order of its member states is also examined.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191018510
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	09/29/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Professor Dinah Shelton holds the Manatt/Ahn Professorship in International Law at the George Washington University Law School, where she has taught since 2004. She previously taught international law and was director of the doctoral program in international human rights law at the University of Notre Dame Law School (1996-2004). Professor Shelton is the author of three prize-winning books, Protecting Human Rights in the Americas (co-authored with Thomas Buergenthal), Remedies in International Human Rights Law, and the three-volume Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity. She has also authored many other articles and books on international law, human rights law, and international environmental law. She is a member of the board of editors of the American Journal of International Law. In June 2009, the General Assembly of the Organization of American States elected her to a four-year term as a member of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction, Dinah Shelton2. Australia, Alice DeJonge3. Austria, Elizabeth Handl-Petz4. Bangladesh, Bianca Karim and Tirza Theunissen5. Canada, Stephane Beaulac, John H. Currie6. China, Jerry Z. LI and Sanzhuan Gui7. Czech Republic, Alexander J. Belohlavek8. France, Emmanuel Decaux9. Germany, Hans-Peter Folz10. Greece, Aggelos Yokaris11. Hungary, Ernszt Ildiko-Drinoczi Timea12. Israel, Talia Einhorn13. Italy, Giuseppe Cataldi14. Japan, Shin Hae Bong15. Luxemburg, Patrick Kinsch16. Netherlands, Evert A. Alkema17. New Zealand, John Hopkins18. Nigeria, Babafemi Akinrade19. Poland, Anna Wyrozumska20. Portugal, Francisco Ferreira de Almeida21. Russia, Yury Tikhomirov22. Serbia, Sanja Dajic23. Slovakia, Dagmar Lantajova24. South Africa, Erika de Wet25. Uganda, Henry Onoria26. United Kingdom, Stephen Neff27. United States, Paul R. Dubinsky28. Venezuela, Eugenio Hernandez-Breton

Editorial Reviews

"This volume can be an invaluable reference for international practitioners and deserves a place in the professional library. It is a welcome addition to the growing literature on the subject of international law in domestic courts." - David P Stewart, International Judicial Monitor

"This new publication is an excellent aide to anyone interested in understanding the implementation process in countries with diverse national legal systems." - Gillian Higgins

From the Publisher