Difference between Municipal Law and International Law | Monism and Dualism

Show Script: 

Ladies and Gentlemen! 

Today, you will witness an epic clash between two legal heavyweights: municipal law and international law. 

So, buckle up, hit that subscribe button and prepare to witness this ultimate legal battle that will shine the spotlight on the diverse principles, and perspectives that shape our global legal framework. 

I guarantee it will keep you hooked until the very end.

The story of Municipal Law and International Law began a long time ago when two contrasting philosophies emerged: Monism and Dualism. 

Think of a rainbow with its beautiful colors. Monism is like understanding that all these colors are actually different shades of light. They may look separate, but they all come from the same source—white light. 

These Monists believe that there is fundamental unity in the world, and everything could be reduced to a single underlying principle like ‘Sabka Maalik Ek’. Monism rejects duality and promotes oneness or singularity. 

Now, let's think about Day and Night. When the sun shines, it's bright and warm, but when the sun sets, darkness falls, and we experience night. Day and Night represent separate entities, showing the contrast between light and darkness. 

This is where Dualism comes into play. 

It opposes Monism and believes in the existence of two separate realities, such as heaven and hell, swarg and nark, good and evil or mind and matter. Dualists give emphasis to the distinct and independent nature of these twofold aspects. 

I will tell you more about it, later in the episode.

The next thing you should know about is the meaning of Municipal Law. 

But before I dive deeper into this topic, let's clear one thing.

In the world of international law, we come across terms like Municipal Law, National Law, Local Law, State Law, Domestic Law, and Regional Law. These terms differ from place to place, but they mean one and the same thing and refer to the laws that govern a specific country or region. 

Essentially, they are the rules and laws made specifically for your country and by your country. 

In Indian context, the Constitution of India, laws passed by the Parliament and State Legislatures like IPC and Traffic Rules are some of the examples of Municipal Law. 

Municipal Law governs individuals and organizations created under it, such as companies, partnership firms, and trusts. 

Basically, the source of Municipal Law is the will of the State itself as these laws are usually formulated by elected representatives in Parliament or State Legislatures. 

Hence, Municipal Law is the backbone of any country’s legal framework. 

On the other hand, International Law is the set of rules that countries agree to follow when they interact with each other. 

It is like a code of conduct for the entire world. 

It includes treaties, human rights and international organizations like the United Nations. 

What you need to know is that it is applicable solely to the countries or nation-states and it is not directly applicable to individuals or local organizations. 

Further, treaties, customs, decisions of international courts are some of the sources of International Law. 

To know more about sources of international law, please watch my earlier episode. 

Now, Monism believes that International Law and State Law are two related aspects of a single system, namely, the General Law and any classification of this General Law is useless, whereas the dualists believe that International Law and Municipal Law represent two entirely distinct systems that have no relationship with each other. 

I will give an example. 

You and your best friend want to play your favorite game, Teen Patti. 

Monism would say that there is only one way of playing Teen Patti and there is only one set of rules to be followed. The variations of Teen Patti like Mufliss or Joker variation are simply part of the same game. Whereas Dualists would argue that the different versions of Teen Patti like Mufliss are actually separate games in themselves since they have completely different rules that have no relationship with the original game of Teen Patti. 

How is this relevant in International Law? 

Basically, because of the constant tussle between Monism and Dualism, people get confused as to what is more important, Municipal Law or International Law. 

But don’t worry. I will remove this confusion in the next few minutes. 

You know that in the field of law, every country is considered as sovereign and equal. And today the world is so interconnected that actions of one country can have far-reaching consequences on other countries. 

Imagine the Cricket World Cup is going on. 

Many countries participate in it and follow all the rules. 

If one country starts breaking the rules or starts to indulge in match-fixing or cheating, then all the other countries will be affected by it since it would affect the outcome of the games and the overall standing of the nations in the tournament. 

The country breaking the rules might say that Match-Fixing is legal in our country and that is why we are doing it. But would such an approach solve the problem or remove the confusion? No. 

To solve this problem, the Theory of Harmonization Theory has been developed.

Let’s say, there is a country, Country A. It signs a treaty to protect the environment with other countries. If country A wants proper implementation of that International Treaty, then it should frame a corresponding Domestic or Municipal Law that furthers the goals of the Treaty. If Domestic Law is not protecting the environment and if the International Law is claiming such protection of environment, then there would be utter chaos and eventually, the countries would lose their trust in International Law. This is where the Theory of Harmonization comes into picture. 

Theory of Harmonization says that internally, countries can have their own laws, but international cooperation is equally important and cannot be ignored. 

Thus, both domestic law and international law should be aligned with each other to avoid clashes and conflicts. 

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Just hold on a moment! Do not close this video. 

There is one last and very important thing that you need to know i.e., the case laws. 

These cases will help you understand the current position in the battle between Municipal Law and International Law. 

The first case is the Applicability of the Obligation to Arbitrate case where it was said that the fundamental principle of international law is that international law prevails over domestic law. 

This is also provided in Article 27 of the Vienna Convention of Law of Treaties, 1969 (VCLT) that provides that a treaty cannot be broken by a country because its domestic law is different from the treaty law. 

The second case is the Lockerbie case where the Court said that expressing inability under domestic law to follow International Law is no defence to non-compliance with an international obligation.

Basically, the supremacy of International Law has been maintained by the International Courts. 

There are numerous other case laws as well. But I will not overburden your mind any further. 

That is all about it. The outcome of the battle is also clear. In the sphere of International Law, the International Law prevails, and in the domestic sphere, the Municipal Law prevails. There are grey areas where theories like Harmonization Theory are helpful. 

Let me know your views in the comments section. 

See you next time.