ABSTRACT
Namibia's post independence legal order has embraced a monist theory on the relationship between international law and national law. This chapter examines the extent to which this theory has been observed in the post-independence legal dispensation in the enforcement of human rights norms. The human rights norms embodied in a constitutionally entrenched Bill of Rights are juxtaposed with similar norms in major international human rights instruments in order to examine whether, in line with the monist theory, the national human rights norms reflect international standards for the protection of such norms. The chapter examines the extent to which the Namibian judiciary has domestically effectuated the monist theory when dealing with human rights issues particularly by having recourse to international human rights law. The analysis concentrates on those human rights norms where the theory has, explicitly or implicitly, arisen and demonstrates that in actual practice the monist theory has been compromised.
