The relationship between international law and national law in the case of Kosovo: A constitutional perspective

This paper addresses the relationship between international law and national law in the case of Kosovo, using its constitutional law as a backdrop to the main question of the paper. After introducing the theoretical background to the field in question, the paper argues that the Constitution of Kosovo provides for a monist model of relationship between international law and national law, while recognizing the direct applicability and incorporation of treaties in the domestic legal order, and, to a certain extent, also of customary international law. The paper goes on to explain the relationship in question through reviewing a large portion of literature in the field with a view to enabling the reader to understand the specific provisions of the Constitution of Kosovo on the relationship concerned. The paper also attempts to explain the penetration of international human rights law in the national legal order, including an account of the broad constitutionalization of international human rights instruments that is apparent in the Kosovo Constitution. Finally, the paper concludes that the Constitution of Kosovo builds a 'happy' relationship between international law and national law, thus following a modern approach toward the relationship between the two.