Part II Negotiating Constitutionalism, Ch.9 International Law and the Constitutional Schema

This chapter examines the Indian constitutional scheme with regard to international law. It begins with an overview of the doctrinal debates surrounding key constitutional provisions relating to international law, with particular emphasis on Article 51(c) of the Indian Constitution. It then considers how Indian courts have viewed norms of international law with respect to the constitutional guidance to ‘foster respect for international law and treaty obligations’, along with the courts’ development of domestic rights jurisprudence in dialogue with international law. It also explores how the constitutional schema has become an instrument for a usurpation of power by the executive and the judiciary, while limiting the role of Parliament and ‘people power’ in relation to international law.