ABSTRACT
Dualist and monist theories There are two basic theories, with a number of variations in the literature, on the relationship between international and domestic law. The first doc trine is called the dualist (or pluralist) view, and assumes that international law and municipal law are two separate legal systems which exist independently of each other. The central question then is whether one system is superior to the other. The second doctrine, called the monist view, has a unitary perception of the ‘law’ and understands both inter national and municipal law as forming part of one and the same legal order. The most radical version of the monist approach was formulated by Kelsen.2 In his view, the ultimate source of the validity of all law derived from a basic rule (‘Grundnorm’) of international law. Kelsen’s theory led to the conclusion that all rules of international law were supreme over municipal law, that a municipal law inconsistent with international law was automatically null and void and that rules of international law were directly applicable in the domestic sphere of states.
