General Aspects

The domestic court decisions excerpted in this chapter address general aspects pertaining to decisions of domestic courts on matters of international law that are relevant to the subsequent chapters in the book. Section II discusses three conditions for domestic judicial application of international law: the question of whether international law is part of the ‘law of the land’ (or: is part of the applicable law—section II.1); the question of whether private parties can invoke international law (‘standing to invoke international law’—section II.2); and the question of whether, in case of a conflicting outcome in a case, international law can be said to prevail over national law (the question of ‘supremacy’—section II.3).

Section III addresses the two techniques that domestic courts commonly use to ensure that a particular international right or obligation is performed at the national level, namely the principle of ‘direct effect’ (section III.1); and the principle of ‘consistent interpretation’ (section III.2).

Section IV reviews methods by which domestic courts, rather than giving effect to international law, may block its application (or ‘avoid’ it).