ACCA Applied Skills · Corporate and Business Law (Global) · International trade, international legal regulation and conflict of laws

Nordia is a state with a dualist approach to international law. It signs and ratifies a trade treaty, but its parliament has not passed any legislation giving the treaty effect. A Nordian company relies on the treaty in a Nordian court against a local supplier. What is the likely outcome?

The court will probably refuse to apply the treaty. In a dualist system a ratified treaty binds the state internationally but only becomes enforceable in domestic courts once legislation incorporates it. Automatic application is a feature of monist systems, not dualist ones.

1. AThe court will not apply the treaty, because it has no domestic legal effect without legislationCorrect
2. BThe court will apply the treaty automatically because Nordia ratified it
3. CThe court will apply the treaty only if the supplier consents
4. DThe treaty will override any existing Nordian statute