ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the extant position of international human rights law, customary and conventional, in Namibian municipal law. The extant status and role of both customary and conventional international law in municipal law of Namibia is now regulated by the 1990 Constitution. The Namibian international law clause is a clear indicia of the proactiveness or friendliness of the Constitution to international law. Article 144 creates two main exceptions to direct and automatic application of customary and treaty rules in Namibian municipal law: constitutional supremacy and legislative sovereignty. The conditioning of the automatic application of international law (including customary international human rights law) by the doctrine of constitutional supremacy underscores the predominant nature of the Constitution of Namibia. The exclusion of automatic application of international law in municipal law by legislative sovereignty may arise where, for instance, an international law rule embodied either in a treaty or custom is inconsistent with an Act of Parliament.
