
International Law and the Constitutional Schema
in Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution
Edited by and Pratap Bhanu Mehta
, , Oxford University Press
,
2016
This chapter first considers the doctrinal debates attached to key constitutional provisions relating to international law. It then considers how Indian courts have internalised norms of international law in the light of the constitutional guidance to ‘foster respect for international law and treaty obligations’ to norms of international law and have developed domestic rights jurisprudence in dialogue with international law. This chapter advances the hypothesis that Indian courts have internalised norms of international law by using and interpreting international law instrumentally to dispense ‘justice’, and expand their own power and discretion.