Constitutionalization of international law: a comparative analysis between Bangladesh and India
Constitutionalization of international law: a comparative analysis between Bangladesh and India

Summary/Abstract: The central preoccupation of constitutionalism is the relationship between universal human rights, the rule of law, democracy, and judicial review within a liberal democratic constitutional order. Undoubtedly, the political dimension is necessary to understand the relevance of constitutional law in a state. The contents of present constitutional law are becoming more international in various ways because national constitutions have to deal with international and transnational questions being influenced by other constitutions in their history. Conversely, international law has progressed from a law of coordination between states to a law of close cooperation, reaching far into the realm of traditional domestic concerns. It ultimately depends on the national Constitution whether and how particular international treaties and the outcome of these networks enter the domestic legal system and their position in those systems. Constitutionalization of international law can be labelled as a project, i.e. being designed but yet to be accomplished, or a phenomenon already exists and being described. South Asian nations, being part of the larger Global South, have had some difficulty in maintaining their Independence of Constitutions because most of them emerged independently out of colonial regimes or colonial backed autocratic regimes. Despite following the dualistic legal tradition, Bangladesh and India are constitutionally committed to respecting international law in various state affairs. Both states have ratified almost all the core international human rights instruments for protecting and promoting human rights with many national and international legal instruments, but human rights violations are still a big concern in various forms there. The Supreme Court of both the States has utilized the provisions and principles of international instruments in many cases to aid the interpretation of the Constitution and ordinary laws, arguably leading towards the constitutionalization of international law.

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