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  5. Realisation of International Law in the National Legal Order: Challenges of Coherence

Almanac of law. Issue 16 (2025), pages 354–358.

DOI: 10.33663/2524-017X-2025-16-354-358

Baginskyi R. V.
Realisation of International Law in the National Legal Order: Challenges of Coherence

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the realisation of international legal norms within national legal systems, with particular focus on the conceptual and structural challenges related to normative coherence. The author examines realisation not as a static or merely formal process, but as a complex and evolving phenomenon shaped by legal, institutional, and interpretative dimensions. Realisation of international law encompasses a wide range of mechanisms, including incorporation, transformation, adaptation, and internalisation. The doctrinal frameworks of monism and dualism, the constitutional hierarchy of norms, and national legal traditions influence these mechanisms.

Drawing on contemporary international legal theory, the study emphasises the importance of internalisation as a condition for the effective functioning of international law at the domestic level. Internalisation is interpreted not only as a legal technique but as a normative process whereby international norms become embedded in national legal and political consciousness. This includes the use of global standards in legislative reform, executive practice, and most notably, judicial reasoning.

The article further explores the growing relevance of soft law in the process of realisation. Soft law instruments — declarations, guidelines, principles — though not legally binding, exert significant normative influence. They provide orientation in areas where hard law is lacking or politically sensitive, such as environmental law, human rights, and digital governance. Their incorporation into administrative practices, policy design, and judicial decisions reflects an emerging layer of normative realisation that transcends strict positivist models.

Realisation is also understood as a vehicle of legal legitimacy. The degree to which a state realises international legal obligations reflects its openness to normative pluralism and its alignment with global legal standards. Moreover, the process of realisation contributes to the legal identity of the state by shaping its constitutional narrative and value system by transnational principles such as the rule of law, human dignity, and democratic accountability.

In conclusion, the article argues that the realization of international law must be viewed not only through the lens of legal effectiveness but also as a measure of normative integration, institutional adaptability, and constitutional compatibility. It is a multidimensional and dynamic process that bridges international legal authority with domestic legal autonomy, functioning as both a technical and symbolic instrument of legal development in a globalized legal environment.

Key words: International law; Realisation of law; Implementation of international norms; Internalisation; Transformation of norms; Soft law; Interpretative application; Coherence of legal systems; Global legal integration.

References

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