Operationalizing Nollkaemper’s and Peters’ theories on International Law within The Avoid, Align, Contest Framework for Domestic Courts
(Mengoperasikan Teori Nollkaemper dan Peters tentang Hukum Internasional dalam Kerangka Menghindari, Menyelaraskan, atau Menggugat)
Keywords:
International Law, Domestic Court, Integration into National Law
Abstract
Abstract
This paper examines how domestic courts interact with international law through the lens of the “Avoid, Align, Contest” framework, applied to two leading theories: Nollkaemper’s vision of international law as a rule of law, and Peters’ conception of it as a global constitution. Nollkaemper emphasizes judicial alignment and legal coherence, requiring strong institutional capacity to enforce international norms. Peters, by contrast, allows courts greater flexibility to contest or avoid international law when grounded in shared constitutional values. By mapping each theory onto the posture model, the paper clarifies not only expected judicial behavior, but also the institutional and normative conditions required for courts to operate effectively within these theoretical frameworks.
Intisari
Makalah ini mengkaji bagaimana pengadilan domestik berinteraksi dengan hukum internasional melalui kerangka ‘Menghindar, Menyesuaikan, dan Menggugat’ (Avoid, Align, Contest), yang diterapkan pada dua teori utama: pandangan Nollkaemper tentang hukum internasional sebagai suatu tata hukum (rule of law), dan gagasan Peters tentang hukum internasional sebagai konstitusi global. Model “postur” ini berasal dari pengamatan empiris terhadap banyak pengadilan domestik, sementara kedua teori tersebut berbeda secara filosofis; makalah ini menerapkan kembali model postur tersebut pada tingkat teoretis. Makalah ini menunjukkan bahwa komitmen teoretis (tata hukum vs. konstitusi global) secara implisit merumuskan ekspektasi yang berbeda terhadap postur yudisial.
References
Books and Book Chapters
Adam Tomkins, Public Law (Clarendon Press 2003)
Andre Nollkaemper, National Courts and the International Rule of Law (Oxford University Press 2011)
Anne Peters, ‘Are We Moving Towards Constitutionalization of the World Community?’ in Antonio Cassese (ed), Realizing Utopia - The Future of International Law (OUP 2012)
Anne Peters, Beyond Human Rights: The Legal Status of the Individual in International Law (CUP 2016)
Anne Peters, The Globalization of State Constitutions (Oxford University Press 2007)
Antonio Cassese, International Law, Oxford University Press, (2005)
Antonio Tzanakopoulos, ‘Collective Security and Human Rights’ in Erika de Wet and Jure Vidmar (eds), Hierarchy in International Law: The Place of Human Rights (OUP 2012)
Brian Z Tamanaha, On the Rule of Law: History, Politics, Theory (Cambridge University Press 2004)
Chittharanan F Amerasinghe, Jurisdiction of International Tribunals (Kluwer Law International 2003)
David Beatty, The Ultimate Rule of Law (OUP 2004).
Dionisio Anzilotti, Corso di Diritto Internazionale, Volume Primo, Introduzione – Teorie Generali (Padova: Cedam 1955)
Gavin W Anderson, Constitutional Rights after Globalization (Hart 2005)
Gianluigi Palombella and Neil Walker (eds), Relocating the Rule of Law (Hart 2009)
Giorgio Gaja, ‘Dualism – A Review’, in J Nijman and A Nollkaemper, New Perspectives on the Divide Between National and International Law (Oxford University Press, 2007)
Gus van Harten, Investment Treaty Arbitration and Public Law (OUP 2007)
Heinrich Triepel, Volkerrecht und Landesrecht (Leipzig: Verlag von C.L. Hirschfeld 1899)
Hersch Lauterpacht, International Law: Being the Collected Papers of Hersch Lauterpacht—Vol 2 (Cambridge University Press 1970)
Jan Klabbers, Anne Peters, and Geir Ulfstein, The Constitutionalization of International Law (Oxford University Press 2009)
Jan Klabbers, Straddling Law and Politics: Judicial Review in International Law (Martinus Nijhoff 2005)
Ji Li, ‘Interactions Between Domestic Social Norms and International Law over Trade Dispute Resolution’ in André Nollkaemper and Machiko Kanetake, The Rule of Law at the National and International Levels: Contestations and Deference (Hart Publishing 2016)
Julian Rivers ‘Proportionality and Discretion in International and European Law’ in Nicholas Tsagourias (ed), Transnational Constitutionalism (CUP 2007)
Lassa Francis Lawrence Oppenheim, International Law: A Treatise, Vol I (London: Longmans Green 1905)
Machiko Kanetake and André Nollkaemper, ‘the International Rule of Law in the Cycle of Contestations and Deference’ in André Nollkaemper and Machiko Kanetake, The Rule of Law at the National and International Levels: Contestations and Deference (Hart Publishing 2016).
Ole K Fauchald and André Nollkaemper (eds), The Practice of International and National Courts and the (De-)Fragmentation of International Law (Hart Publishing 2012)
Oscar Schachter, International Law in Theory and Practice (Martinus Nijhoff 1991)
Vaughan Lowe, International Law (OUP, Oxford 2007)
Vicki Jackson, Constitutional Engagement in a Transnational Era (Oxford University Press 2010)
Journal Articles
Alec S Sweet, ‘Judicialization and the Construction of Governance’ (1999) 32 Comparative Political Studies 147
Gerald Fitzmaurice, ‘The General Principles of International Law—Considered from the Standpoint of the Rule of Law’ (1957) 92 RdC 1
Joseph Raz, ‘The Rule of Law and its Virtue’ (1977) 83 LQR 195
Martin Loughlin, ‘The Functionalist Style in Public Law’ (2005) 5 University of Toronto Law Journal 361
Mattias Kumm, ‘International Law in National Courts: The International Rule of Law and the Limits of the Internationalist Model’ (2003) 44 Va J Int'l L 19
Neil Walker ‘Beyond Boundary Disputes and Basic Grids: Mapping the Global Disorder of Normative Orders’ (2008) 6 International Journal of Constitutional Law 373–396
Paolo G Carozza, ‘Subsidiarity as a Structural Element of International Human Rights Law’ (2003) 97 AJIL 38
Paul Mahoney, ‘Universality Versus Subsidiarity in the Strasbourg Case Law on Free Speech: Explaining Some Recent Judgments’ (2007) EHRLR 364
Randall Peerenboom, ‘Human Rights and the Rule of Law: What's the Relationship?’ (2005) 36 Georgetown Journal of International Law 809
Yuval Shany, ‘Toward a General Margin of Appreciation Doctrine in International Law?’ EJIL (2005), Vol. 16 No. 5 907–940
Reports and Documents
‘Human Rights in the Administration of Justice: a Manual on Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers’ (OHCHR-IBA 2003)
Antonios Tzanakopoulos, ‘Final Report: Mapping The Engagement Of Domestic Courts With International Law’, (ILA Johanesburg Conference 2016)
ESCR Committee General Comment 3, The nature of States parties’ obligations (Fifth session, 1990), U.N. Doc. E/1991/23, annex III at 86 (1991), HRI/GEN/1/Rev.6 at 14 (2003)
Frederic Dopagne, ‘Report on Belgium’ (ILA Study Group 2014)
Hannah Woolaver, ‘Report on South Africa’ (ILA Study Group 2013)
Human Rights Committee, General Comment 31, Nature of the General Legal Obligation on States Parties to the Covenant, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.13 (2004)
ILC Articles on Responsibility of International Organizations, Yearbook of the International Law Commission 2000, vol. II, Part Two
ILC Articles on State Responsibility, Yearbook of the International Law Commission, 2001, vol. II (Part Two)
ILC, ‘Third Report on State Responsibility’(5 March–18 May 1971) UN Doc A/CN.4/246
Machiko Kanetake, ‘Report on International Human Rights Law’ (ILA Study Group 2015)
Pieter van Dijk, ‘Comments On The Implementation Of International Human Rights Treaties In Domestic Law And The Role Of Courts, European Commission For Democracy Through Law’ (Venice Commission), Study No. 690/2012
UNSC ‘Report of the Secretary-General on the Rule of Law and Transitional Justice in Conflict and Post-conflict Societies’ (2004) UN Doc S/20004/616, 6
Venice Commission, ‘Report on the Implementation of International Human Rights Treaties in Domestic Law and the Role of Courts’ (COE 8 December 2014)
Treaties
Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (adopted 17 July 1998, entered into force 1 July 2002) 2187 UNTS 90
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, UNTS Vol. 1155
International and National Case Laws
A. v. The United Kingdom, App No. 25599/94 (ECTHR 23 November 1998)
Abdelrazik v Canada (Minister of Foreign Affairs) [2010] 1 FCR 267; 2009 FC 580
Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v United States of America) [2004] 12
Beit Sourik Village Council v Israel and the Commander of the Israeli Defence Force in the West Bank, HCJ 2056/04; ILDC 16 (IL 2004)
Bevacqua and S. v. Bulgaria, App No. 71127/2001, (ECTHR 12 June 2008)
Custom Union between Germany and Austria, PCIJ Series AlB, No. 41
Decision 238/2014 of the Italian Constitutional Court,
Hamdan v Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense 548 US 557, 126 S Ct 2749 (2006)
Handyside v United Kingdom, judgment of 7 December 1976, ECHR App. No 5493/72
Hay v HM Treasury [2009] EWHC 1677 (Admin)
HM's Treasury v Mohammed Jabar Ahmed (FC), HM's Treasury v Mohammed al-Ghabra (FC), and R (Hani El Sayed Sabaei Youssef) v HM's Treasury [2010] UKSC 2
Kadi and Al Barakaat v Council and Commission, Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 3 September 2008 C-402/05 P and C-415/05 P
Kadi v Prime Ministry and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, E 2006/2824, K 2007/115; ILDC 311 (TK 2007)
La Grand (Germany v United States of America), [2001] ICJ Reports, 466
Medellín v Texas, 552 US; ILDC 947 (US 2008)
R (Al-Jedda) FC v Secretary of State for Defence [2007] UKHL 58
Simpson v. Attorney General [1994] 3 NZLR 667
Verwaltungsgerichtshof Baden-Württemberg, 10 S 1765/96 (Judgment of 15. Oktober 1996)
X and Y v. The Netherlands, App No. 8978/80 (ECtHR 26 March 1985)
Youssef Nada v State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Case No 1A 45/2007; ILDC 461 (CH 2007)
Adam Tomkins, Public Law (Clarendon Press 2003)
Andre Nollkaemper, National Courts and the International Rule of Law (Oxford University Press 2011)
Anne Peters, ‘Are We Moving Towards Constitutionalization of the World Community?’ in Antonio Cassese (ed), Realizing Utopia - The Future of International Law (OUP 2012)
Anne Peters, Beyond Human Rights: The Legal Status of the Individual in International Law (CUP 2016)
Anne Peters, The Globalization of State Constitutions (Oxford University Press 2007)
Antonio Cassese, International Law, Oxford University Press, (2005)
Antonio Tzanakopoulos, ‘Collective Security and Human Rights’ in Erika de Wet and Jure Vidmar (eds), Hierarchy in International Law: The Place of Human Rights (OUP 2012)
Brian Z Tamanaha, On the Rule of Law: History, Politics, Theory (Cambridge University Press 2004)
Chittharanan F Amerasinghe, Jurisdiction of International Tribunals (Kluwer Law International 2003)
David Beatty, The Ultimate Rule of Law (OUP 2004).
Dionisio Anzilotti, Corso di Diritto Internazionale, Volume Primo, Introduzione – Teorie Generali (Padova: Cedam 1955)
Gavin W Anderson, Constitutional Rights after Globalization (Hart 2005)
Gianluigi Palombella and Neil Walker (eds), Relocating the Rule of Law (Hart 2009)
Giorgio Gaja, ‘Dualism – A Review’, in J Nijman and A Nollkaemper, New Perspectives on the Divide Between National and International Law (Oxford University Press, 2007)
Gus van Harten, Investment Treaty Arbitration and Public Law (OUP 2007)
Heinrich Triepel, Volkerrecht und Landesrecht (Leipzig: Verlag von C.L. Hirschfeld 1899)
Hersch Lauterpacht, International Law: Being the Collected Papers of Hersch Lauterpacht—Vol 2 (Cambridge University Press 1970)
Jan Klabbers, Anne Peters, and Geir Ulfstein, The Constitutionalization of International Law (Oxford University Press 2009)
Jan Klabbers, Straddling Law and Politics: Judicial Review in International Law (Martinus Nijhoff 2005)
Ji Li, ‘Interactions Between Domestic Social Norms and International Law over Trade Dispute Resolution’ in André Nollkaemper and Machiko Kanetake, The Rule of Law at the National and International Levels: Contestations and Deference (Hart Publishing 2016)
Julian Rivers ‘Proportionality and Discretion in International and European Law’ in Nicholas Tsagourias (ed), Transnational Constitutionalism (CUP 2007)
Lassa Francis Lawrence Oppenheim, International Law: A Treatise, Vol I (London: Longmans Green 1905)
Machiko Kanetake and André Nollkaemper, ‘the International Rule of Law in the Cycle of Contestations and Deference’ in André Nollkaemper and Machiko Kanetake, The Rule of Law at the National and International Levels: Contestations and Deference (Hart Publishing 2016).
Ole K Fauchald and André Nollkaemper (eds), The Practice of International and National Courts and the (De-)Fragmentation of International Law (Hart Publishing 2012)
Oscar Schachter, International Law in Theory and Practice (Martinus Nijhoff 1991)
Vaughan Lowe, International Law (OUP, Oxford 2007)
Vicki Jackson, Constitutional Engagement in a Transnational Era (Oxford University Press 2010)
Journal Articles
Alec S Sweet, ‘Judicialization and the Construction of Governance’ (1999) 32 Comparative Political Studies 147
Gerald Fitzmaurice, ‘The General Principles of International Law—Considered from the Standpoint of the Rule of Law’ (1957) 92 RdC 1
Joseph Raz, ‘The Rule of Law and its Virtue’ (1977) 83 LQR 195
Martin Loughlin, ‘The Functionalist Style in Public Law’ (2005) 5 University of Toronto Law Journal 361
Mattias Kumm, ‘International Law in National Courts: The International Rule of Law and the Limits of the Internationalist Model’ (2003) 44 Va J Int'l L 19
Neil Walker ‘Beyond Boundary Disputes and Basic Grids: Mapping the Global Disorder of Normative Orders’ (2008) 6 International Journal of Constitutional Law 373–396
Paolo G Carozza, ‘Subsidiarity as a Structural Element of International Human Rights Law’ (2003) 97 AJIL 38
Paul Mahoney, ‘Universality Versus Subsidiarity in the Strasbourg Case Law on Free Speech: Explaining Some Recent Judgments’ (2007) EHRLR 364
Randall Peerenboom, ‘Human Rights and the Rule of Law: What's the Relationship?’ (2005) 36 Georgetown Journal of International Law 809
Yuval Shany, ‘Toward a General Margin of Appreciation Doctrine in International Law?’ EJIL (2005), Vol. 16 No. 5 907–940
Reports and Documents
‘Human Rights in the Administration of Justice: a Manual on Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers’ (OHCHR-IBA 2003)
Antonios Tzanakopoulos, ‘Final Report: Mapping The Engagement Of Domestic Courts With International Law’, (ILA Johanesburg Conference 2016)
ESCR Committee General Comment 3, The nature of States parties’ obligations (Fifth session, 1990), U.N. Doc. E/1991/23, annex III at 86 (1991), HRI/GEN/1/Rev.6 at 14 (2003)
Frederic Dopagne, ‘Report on Belgium’ (ILA Study Group 2014)
Hannah Woolaver, ‘Report on South Africa’ (ILA Study Group 2013)
Human Rights Committee, General Comment 31, Nature of the General Legal Obligation on States Parties to the Covenant, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.13 (2004)
ILC Articles on Responsibility of International Organizations, Yearbook of the International Law Commission 2000, vol. II, Part Two
ILC Articles on State Responsibility, Yearbook of the International Law Commission, 2001, vol. II (Part Two)
ILC, ‘Third Report on State Responsibility’(5 March–18 May 1971) UN Doc A/CN.4/246
Machiko Kanetake, ‘Report on International Human Rights Law’ (ILA Study Group 2015)
Pieter van Dijk, ‘Comments On The Implementation Of International Human Rights Treaties In Domestic Law And The Role Of Courts, European Commission For Democracy Through Law’ (Venice Commission), Study No. 690/2012
UNSC ‘Report of the Secretary-General on the Rule of Law and Transitional Justice in Conflict and Post-conflict Societies’ (2004) UN Doc S/20004/616, 6
Venice Commission, ‘Report on the Implementation of International Human Rights Treaties in Domestic Law and the Role of Courts’ (COE 8 December 2014)
Treaties
Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (adopted 17 July 1998, entered into force 1 July 2002) 2187 UNTS 90
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, UNTS Vol. 1155
International and National Case Laws
A. v. The United Kingdom, App No. 25599/94 (ECTHR 23 November 1998)
Abdelrazik v Canada (Minister of Foreign Affairs) [2010] 1 FCR 267; 2009 FC 580
Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v United States of America) [2004] 12
Beit Sourik Village Council v Israel and the Commander of the Israeli Defence Force in the West Bank, HCJ 2056/04; ILDC 16 (IL 2004)
Bevacqua and S. v. Bulgaria, App No. 71127/2001, (ECTHR 12 June 2008)
Custom Union between Germany and Austria, PCIJ Series AlB, No. 41
Decision 238/2014 of the Italian Constitutional Court,
Hamdan v Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense 548 US 557, 126 S Ct 2749 (2006)
Handyside v United Kingdom, judgment of 7 December 1976, ECHR App. No 5493/72
Hay v HM Treasury [2009] EWHC 1677 (Admin)
HM's Treasury v Mohammed Jabar Ahmed (FC), HM's Treasury v Mohammed al-Ghabra (FC), and R (Hani El Sayed Sabaei Youssef) v HM's Treasury [2010] UKSC 2
Kadi and Al Barakaat v Council and Commission, Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 3 September 2008 C-402/05 P and C-415/05 P
Kadi v Prime Ministry and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, E 2006/2824, K 2007/115; ILDC 311 (TK 2007)
La Grand (Germany v United States of America), [2001] ICJ Reports, 466
Medellín v Texas, 552 US; ILDC 947 (US 2008)
R (Al-Jedda) FC v Secretary of State for Defence [2007] UKHL 58
Simpson v. Attorney General [1994] 3 NZLR 667
Verwaltungsgerichtshof Baden-Württemberg, 10 S 1765/96 (Judgment of 15. Oktober 1996)
X and Y v. The Netherlands, App No. 8978/80 (ECtHR 26 March 1985)
Youssef Nada v State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Case No 1A 45/2007; ILDC 461 (CH 2007)
Published
2025-07-02
How to Cite
Hanif, I. (2025). Operationalizing Nollkaemper’s and Peters’ theories on International Law within The Avoid, Align, Contest Framework for Domestic Courts. Mimbar Hukum, 37(1), 198-232. https://doi.org/10.22146/mh.v37i1.21408
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Articles
Copyright (c) 2025 Ibrahim Hanif
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