Comprehension
There are two principal theories on the relationship between international law and domestic law-Monism and Dualism. The monistic theory maintains that the subjects of two systems of law, i.e., international law and municipal law are essentially one. The monistic theory asserts that international law and municipal law are fundamentally the same in nature, and arise from the same science of law, and are manifestations of a single conception of law. The followers of this theory view international law and municipal law as part of a universal body of legal rules binding all human beings, collectively or singly. In a monist system, international law does not need to be incorporated into domestic law because international law immediately becomes incorporated in domestic legal system upon ratification of an international treaty. According to this theory, domestic law is subordinate to international law. The Statute of the International Criminal Court, therefore, can be directly applied and adjudicated in national courts according to the monistic theory. According to dualism theory, international law and municipal law represent two entirely distinct legal systems, i.e., international has an intrinsically different character from that of municipal law. International law is not directly applicable in the domestic system under dualism. First, international law must be translated into State legislation before the domestic courts can apply it. For example, under dualism, ratification of the Statute of the International Criminal Court is not enough-it must be implemented through State legislation into the domestic system. Most states and courts presumptively view national and international legal systems as discrete entities and routinely discuss in dualist fashion incorporation of rules from one system to the other.
Question: 1

In light of the given passage, which of the following statements is correct?

Updated On: Jul 14, 2026
  • Monism and Dualism are similar approaches to adopt international law into domestic law.
  • Dualism postulates the homogeneousness of domestic law and international law.
  • Monism and Dualism are different approaches to understand how domestic law impacts international law.
  • Monism postulates the homogeneousness of international law and domestic law.
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The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

The clean way to test each option here is to recall the one defining feature that separates monism from dualism: monism regards international law and domestic law as a single, unified legal order, while dualism regards them as two separate orders that need a bridge, domestic legislation, before international law can operate at home.

  1. Option (A): Calling monism and dualism similar contradicts the entire point of the passage, which sets them up as opposing theories precisely because they disagree on whether the two legal orders are one or two.
  2. Option (B): Sameness of nature between the two systems is monism's defining claim, not dualism's; dualism is built on the premise that international law is intrinsically different in character from domestic law, so this statement has the theories reversed.
  3. Option (C): These theories are about the general relationship between international and domestic law, particularly how international law does or does not take effect domestically, not specifically about domestic law shaping international law; this option gets the direction of the inquiry backwards.
  4. Option (D): This matches the passage's core description of monism precisely: the two systems are seen as fundamentally the same in nature, forming a single conception of law rather than two separate ones.

The correct answer is Monism postulates the homogeneousness of international law and domestic law.

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Question: 2

'X' is a developing country. 'X' ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1995, and incorporated the provisions of the said convention in its domestic legislation addressing climate change in 1996. However, 'X' has been widely criticized in the international community for its failure in meeting the obligations under the said convention. 'Y' is a developed country. 'Y' ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1995, and has not incorporated the provisions of the said convention in its domestic legislation till date. 'Y' has been appreciated by the international community for its success in meeting the obligations under the said convention. In the given situation, which of the following statements is correct?

Updated On: Jul 14, 2026
  • 'X' is a monist State and 'Y' is a dualist State.
  • 'X' is a dualist State and 'Y' is a monist State.
  • 'X' and 'Y' are both monist States.
  • 'X' and 'Y' are both dualist States.
Show Solution

The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

The fact pattern gives one clear diagnostic to work with: did the country need to pass domestic legislation before the treaty could take effect at home? 'X' did, in 1996; 'Y' never did. Under the passage's definitions, needing that translating step is dualism, and not needing it, because ratification alone brings the treaty into domestic effect, is monism.

  1. Option (A): Labelling 'X' monist ignores that 'X' specifically had to enact domestic legislation in 1996 to incorporate the convention, a step that would be unnecessary in a monist system where ratification alone suffices.
  2. Option (B): 'X's 1996 incorporation step is the textbook dualist requirement of translating a treaty into domestic law before it can operate internally, and 'Y's compliance without any such step is the textbook monist pattern of automatic domestic effect upon ratification. This pairing fits the facts precisely.
  3. Option (C): Calling both states monist cannot be reconciled with 'X's domestic incorporation requirement, which is precisely the kind of step a monist system dispenses with.
  4. Option (D): Calling both states dualist cannot be reconciled with 'Y's compliance despite never incorporating the convention domestically, since a dualist system would require that incorporation before compliance could even be possible.

The correct answer is 'X' is a dualist State and 'Y' is a monist State.

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Question: 3

'D', a dualist State, has signed and ratified the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO). If 'D' is compelled to fulfill its international obligations under the TRIPS Agreement, which of the following statements is correct?

Updated On: Jul 14, 2026
  • 'D' may adopt the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement without enacting a new domestic legislation or amending an existing legislation.
  • 'D' may not incorporate the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement into a new domestic legislation.
  • 'D' must incorporate the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement into an existing domestic legislation or in a new domestic legislation.
  • 'D' may not incorporate the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement into an existing domestic legislation.
Show Solution

The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

Being a dualist state is the operative fact here: for 'D', a ratified treaty like TRIPS produces no automatic domestic legal effect. Before its provisions can be enforced or complied with internally, they must be carried into domestic law through legislation, and that legislation can take the form of either amending an existing statute or enacting an altogether new one.

  1. Option (A): Adopting TRIPS with no legislative step at all is a monist move, not a dualist one; a dualist state like 'D' cannot skip the translation step.
  2. Option (B): There is no rule barring 'D' from using fresh, standalone legislation to incorporate TRIPS; that is one of the two ordinary paths dualist states use.
  3. Option (C): Since 'D' is dualist, compliance depends entirely on domestic legislative action, and the passage's framework allows that action to take either form, amendment of an existing law or a new enactment, matching this option exactly.
  4. Option (D): Amending an existing law is just as valid a route as enacting a new one for a dualist state; there is no basis to rule it out.

The correct answer is 'D' must incorporate the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement into an existing domestic legislation or in a new domestic legislation.

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Question: 4

Which of the following statements is incorrect?

Updated On: Jul 14, 2026
  • According to monism, the nature of domestic law and international law is the same and domestic law is subordinate to international law.
  • According to monism, ratified international conventions automatically become a part of domestic law and domestic law is subordinate to international law.
  • According to dualism, ratified international conventions automatically become a part of domestic law and domestic law is subordinate to international law.
  • According to dualism, the nature of domestic law and international law is different and domestic law is not subordinate to international law.
Show Solution

The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

A quick way to check each statement here is to ask which theory the passage actually assigns automatic incorporation and subordination of domestic law to. The passage assigns both of these features to monism, and it assigns the opposite, no automatic incorporation and no subordination, to dualism.

  1. Option (A): Sameness of nature plus subordination of domestic law is exactly how the passage describes monism, so this statement is a correct description.
  2. Option (B): Automatic incorporation upon ratification together with domestic law's subordination is again the passage's description of monism, and this statement matches it correctly.
  3. Option (C): This statement takes the monist features, automatic incorporation and subordination, and wrongly attaches them to dualism. Dualism actually requires translation through domestic legislation and does not treat domestic law as automatically subordinate; this statement has the theories swapped and does not hold up.
  4. Option (D): Treating international and domestic law as different in nature, with domestic law not automatically subordinate, is exactly how the passage frames dualism, so this statement is accurate.

The correct answer is According to dualism, ratified international conventions automatically become a part of domestic law and domestic law is subordinate to international law.

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Question: 5

The country 'X' has ratified an International Convention which requires each State Party to enact laws defining and punishing bribery, i.e., the act of offering bribes to Government officials. The Convention has neither defined bribery, nor prescribed a punishment for the same, so that each State Party may define the offence of bribery differently in their respective domestic legislations. By 2022, 'X' has not enacted any law defining and punishing the offence of bribery. In November 2021, Mr. A was being prosecuted by a domestic criminal court in 'X' for allegedly offering a bribe to a Government official. In the given situation, which of the following statements is correct?

Updated On: Jul 14, 2026
  • If 'X' is a monist State, Mr. A can be punished for committing an offence under the Convention.
  • If 'X' is a dualist State, Mr. A can be punished for committing an offence under the Convention.
  • If 'X' is a dualist State, Mr. A cannot be punished for committing an offence under the Convention.
  • Mr. A cannot be punished for committing an offence under the Convention irrespective of whether 'X' is a monist or a dualist State.
Show Solution

The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

The convention here creates an obligation to legislate, not a ready-made, self-contained offence: it tells states to define and punish bribery but supplies no definition and no penalty of its own. That gap matters more than whether 'X' is monist or dualist, because neither theory can conjure a punishable offence out of a treaty clause that itself has no defined content.

  1. Option (A): Even under monism, what gets automatically absorbed into domestic law is what the treaty actually says; an instruction to legislate, with no definition or penalty attached, has nothing concrete for a monist court to apply directly against Mr. A.
  2. Option (B): A dualist system needs implementing legislation before any treaty-based obligation has domestic legal force, and 'X' has none defining or punishing bribery, so there is no offence available for prosecution under this branch either.
  3. Option (C): This statement is true only if 'X' is in fact dualist, but the passage never tells us that; since its correctness rests on an unconfirmed premise, it cannot be relied upon as the answer even though its reasoning, absent legislation, is sound.
  4. Option (D): Because the convention supplies no self-executing definition or punishment, Mr. A cannot be validly punished whether 'X' turns out to be monist or dualist, which makes this the one statement that holds true without needing to know 'X's classification at all.

The correct answer is Mr. A cannot be punished for committing an offence under the Convention irrespective of whether 'X' is a monist or a dualist State.

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Top Questions on Judiciary

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Read the passage and answer the question.

Passage (extract): The work which Gandhiji had taken up was not only regarding the achievement of political freedom but also the establishment of a new social order based on truth and non-violence, unity and peace, equality and universal brotherhood and maximum freedom for all. A new order cannot be established without radically changing the mind and attitude of men towards property and, at some stage or the other, the 'haves' have to yield place to the 'have-nots'. We have seen, in our time, attempts to achieve a kind of egalitarian society and the picture of it after it was achieved. But this was done, by and large, through the use of physical force. It may even be that, like a gas kept confined within containers under great pressure, or water held back by a big dam, once the barrier breaks, the reaction will one day sweep back with a violence equal in extent and intensity to what was used to establish and maintain the outward egalitarian form. This enforced egalitarianism contains, in its bosom, the seed of its own destruction. If egalitarianism is to endure, it has to be based not on the possession of the maximum material goods by a few or by all but on voluntary, enlightened renunciation of those goods which cannot be shared by others or can be enjoyed only at the expense of others.

According to the passage, egalitarianism will not survive if
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Read the passage and answer the question.

Passage (extract): The work which Gandhiji had taken up was not only regarding the achievement of political freedom but also the establishment of a new social order based on truth and non-violence, unity and peace, equality and universal brotherhood and maximum freedom for all. This unfinished part of his experiment was perhaps even more difficult to achieve than the achievement of political freedom. In the political struggle, the fight was against a foreign power and all one could do was either join it or wish it success and give it his/her moral support. In establishing a social order on this pattern, there was a strong possibility of a conflict arising between diverse groups and classes of our own people.

According to the passage, which was the unfinished part of Gandhi's experiment?
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Read the passage and answer the question.

Passage (extract): In the political struggle, the fight was against a foreign power and all one could do was either join it or wish it success and give it his/her moral support. Experience shows that man values his possessions even more than his life because in the former he sees the means for perpetuation and survival of his descendants even after his body is reduced to ashes. We have seen, in our time, attempts to achieve a kind of egalitarian society and the picture of it after it was achieved. But this was done, by and large, through the use of physical force. This enforced egalitarianism contains, in its bosom, the seed of its own destruction. The root cause of class conflict is possessiveness or the acquisitive instinct.

Which of the following statements is 'not true' in the context of the passage?
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