Looking Behind the Façade of Monism, Dualism and Pluralism

Abstract

The relationship between domestic and international law is generally conceptualized through the lens of three notions: monism, dualism and legal pluralism. Scholars refer to these concepts as a whole, while however often only meaning one aspect of the relationship. This can somewhat distort the discussion. This chapter thus offers an alternative way of engaging with the relationship between legal spaces. It disentangles the different aspects that are relevant for theorizing how we understand this relationship. Regarding the analytical dimension of this relationship, the chapter outlines how the three concepts engage with the (apparent) dichotomies of unity or plurality of law(s), autonomy or intertwinement and hierarchy or heterarchy of legal spaces. The normative dimension is shaped, in particular, by questions pertaining to the notion of law as well as by values such as coherence and diversity and their impact on resolving conflicts between norms stemming from different legal spaces.