ОДНОС УНУТРАШЊЕГ И МЕЂУНАРОДНОГ ПРАВА
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

Summary/Abstract: The author presents the initial idea of the dualistic and monistic theories with later supplements, based on extensive, foreign and domestic literature and also on international and internal cases. This also applies to the position regarding the priority of the body of rules of general international law, on the one hand, and the rules of internal legal systems, on the other. The work contains a broad selection of texts about the constitutions of many states about the relationship of national and international law, and it also presents a historical survey of the doctrine and practice of the Yugoslav state prior to and after the Second World War, including an analysis of the recent Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of 1992. The author believes the debate on the dualistic and monistic conceptions is useful for legal thought, but not in the same measure for practice, as well. Doctrine is moving farther and farther away from the initial, dualistic thesis, yet we are still far away from the solution to the monistic theory, or this rather involves theoretical constructions. National and international law are two circles that not only converge but constantly intersect each other; the existence of a conflict between these two systems of nonns is possible and undisputed. The author advocates the eclectic combination of the best solutions of both theories, does not give his unreserved support either to one or the other theory, and also searches for a solution to the problem outside both conceptions. According to the author, the precedence of international law over the national legislation of a state is fully accepted in international cases predominantly in international legal doctrine, but is rejected in the views of writers on internal legal disciplines, in cases of internal law and especially in the behaviour of states in international relations. This moderately mild but persistent tendency towards the supremacy of international law over the national law of a state, primarily relates to the precedence of the provisions of international conventions over national legislation, but not always over the constitution of a given country. The future holds the prospect of an explicit and broader priority of international law, which the author himself advocates. Like its predecessor, present-day Yugoslavia is following these general tendencies. The author especially highlights Article 124 of the cunent Constitution of the FR Yugoslavia, according to which the Federal Constitutional Court decides on the conformity of laws, other regulations and general acts with the Constitution of the FR Yugoslavia, and with ratified and published international conventions. Such, a provision has not existed in Yugoslav constitutions till now, therefore it indirectly represents a step towards the precedence of international conventions.

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