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Domesticating International Criminal Law: The Indian State Practice

Received: 31 March 2022    Accepted: 9 August 2022    Published: 27 February 2023
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Abstract

“Domestication of any international law is a very difficult task”, the statement becomes even more practical when we talk about the amalgamation of international criminal law into the domestic legal system. Because on one hand, there is no uniformity of State practice in the incorporation process; and on the other, criminal law is primarily emerged out of the concepts like oikonomos of Athens and paterfamilias of Rome—that give the exclusive authority to sovereign States to administer criminal justice within their territorial boundaries. India follows dualism in incorporating international law into domestic i.e. through a transformation process by adopting domestic legislations. But the Indian judicial system finds itself free to refer any custom, convention or international treaties in absence of domestic legislation on the subject matter. Up to the point, such reference is not inconsistent with the express provisions of law, the sovereignty of the state and the basic structure doctrine. The Indian judiciary has always stood strong as the pillar supporting the human rights values and its ecology, through its direct involvement in the interpretation of law of nations. The paper talks about the Indian mechanism for the domestication of international laws, the role played by the different organs of the state and their overlapping powers. However, it primarily focuses on the susceptibility of the Indian legal system including the legislative as well as the judicial bodies to the principles of international criminal law.

Published in International Journal of Law and Society (Volume 6, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijls.20230601.22
Page(s) 88-96
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

International Criminal Law, Indian State Practice, Parliamentary Incorporation, Judicial Incorporation

References
[1] Article 14, 15, 19, 21, 51 and other provisions of the Constitutional Law of India, 1950, Web Sources: https://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/coi-4March2016.pdf
[2] Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 1984, Web Sources: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/cat.pdf
[3] Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation, 1971, Web Sources: https://treaties.un.org/doc/db/terrorism/conv3-english.pdf
[4] Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, 1988, Web Sources: https://treaties.un.org/doc/db/terrorism/conv8-english.pdf
[5] Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, 1970, Web Sources: https://treaties.un.org/doc/db/Terrorism/Conv2-english.pdf
[6] Article 11 and 24 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), 1979, Web Sources: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/cedaw.pdf
[7] Section 17 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, Web Sources: https://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/A1872-09.pdf
[8] International Convention against the taking of Hostages, 1979, Web Sources: https://treaties.un.org/doc/Treaties/1979/12/19791218%2003-20%20PM/Ch_XVIII_5p.pdf
[9] International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, 2006, Web Sources: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/disappearance-convention.pdf
[10] International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, 2005, Web Sources: https://treaties.un.org/doc/db/terrorism/english-18-15.pdf
[11] International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 1966, Web Sources: https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%20999/volume-999-i-14668-english.pdf
[12] Lauterpacht, Elihu (1991), Hersch Lauterpacht International Law: Collected Papers (General Works), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[13] Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010, Web Sources: https://prsindia.org/files/bills_acts/bills_parliament/2010/prevention_of_torture_bill_2010.pdf
[14] Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, Web Sources: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/5987our-common-future.pdf
[15] Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, 1992, Web Sources: https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N92/836/55/PDF/N9283655.pdf?OpenElement
[16] Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 1998, Web Sources: https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/RS-Eng.pdf
[17] Statute of the International Court of Justice, 1945, Web Sources: https://legal.un.org/avl/pdf/ha/sicj/icj_statute_e.pdf
[18] The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (known as Stockholm Conference), 1972, Web Sources: https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/NL7/300/05/IMG/NL730005.pdf?OpenElement
[19] The Anti-Hijacking Act, 1982, Web Sources: https://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/A1982-65_0.pdf
[20] The Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act, 1982, Web Sources: https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/1795/3/A1982-66.pdf
[21] United Nations Charter, 1945, Web Sources: https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/ctc/uncharter.pdf
[22] Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), 1969, Web Sources: https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/1_1_1969.pdf
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  • APA Style

    Ramdhass Perumal. (2023). Domesticating International Criminal Law: The Indian State Practice. International Journal of Law and Society, 6(1), 88-96. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20230601.22

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    Ramdhass Perumal. Domesticating International Criminal Law: The Indian State Practice. Int. J. Law Soc. 2023, 6(1), 88-96. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20230601.22

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    AMA Style

    Ramdhass Perumal. Domesticating International Criminal Law: The Indian State Practice. Int J Law Soc. 2023;6(1):88-96. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20230601.22

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijls.20230601.22,
      author = {Ramdhass Perumal},
      title = {Domesticating International Criminal Law: The Indian State Practice},
      journal = {International Journal of Law and Society},
      volume = {6},
      number = {1},
      pages = {88-96},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijls.20230601.22},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20230601.22},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijls.20230601.22},
      abstract = {“Domestication of any international law is a very difficult task”, the statement becomes even more practical when we talk about the amalgamation of international criminal law into the domestic legal system. Because on one hand, there is no uniformity of State practice in the incorporation process; and on the other, criminal law is primarily emerged out of the concepts like oikonomos of Athens and paterfamilias of Rome—that give the exclusive authority to sovereign States to administer criminal justice within their territorial boundaries. India follows dualism in incorporating international law into domestic i.e. through a transformation process by adopting domestic legislations. But the Indian judicial system finds itself free to refer any custom, convention or international treaties in absence of domestic legislation on the subject matter. Up to the point, such reference is not inconsistent with the express provisions of law, the sovereignty of the state and the basic structure doctrine. The Indian judiciary has always stood strong as the pillar supporting the human rights values and its ecology, through its direct involvement in the interpretation of law of nations. The paper talks about the Indian mechanism for the domestication of international laws, the role played by the different organs of the state and their overlapping powers. However, it primarily focuses on the susceptibility of the Indian legal system including the legislative as well as the judicial bodies to the principles of international criminal law.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20230601.22
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    AB  - “Domestication of any international law is a very difficult task”, the statement becomes even more practical when we talk about the amalgamation of international criminal law into the domestic legal system. Because on one hand, there is no uniformity of State practice in the incorporation process; and on the other, criminal law is primarily emerged out of the concepts like oikonomos of Athens and paterfamilias of Rome—that give the exclusive authority to sovereign States to administer criminal justice within their territorial boundaries. India follows dualism in incorporating international law into domestic i.e. through a transformation process by adopting domestic legislations. But the Indian judicial system finds itself free to refer any custom, convention or international treaties in absence of domestic legislation on the subject matter. Up to the point, such reference is not inconsistent with the express provisions of law, the sovereignty of the state and the basic structure doctrine. The Indian judiciary has always stood strong as the pillar supporting the human rights values and its ecology, through its direct involvement in the interpretation of law of nations. The paper talks about the Indian mechanism for the domestication of international laws, the role played by the different organs of the state and their overlapping powers. However, it primarily focuses on the susceptibility of the Indian legal system including the legislative as well as the judicial bodies to the principles of international criminal law.
    VL  - 6
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Author Information
  • School of Law, The University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehradun, India

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