ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the international minimum standards for the domestic implementation of treaty obligations dictated by general principles of international law, as interpreted and applied by international courts. It examines the de facto application of such international standards by domestic courts, and the growing practice of incorporating de jure those standards in constitutions. While the 1948 Constitution was silent on the matter, Italian practice in the second half of the twentieth century was evolved by way of rulings of the Italian Constitutional Court. The chapter discusses the Italian practice on implementing international obligations in the domestic legal system. It examines the upheaval the internal balance of powers might experience when state constitutions implement international standards. The chapter discusses the repercussions on the democratic nature of internal and international law that may ensue from failure to grant parliaments an adequate role in the various phases of the treaty-making process.
