Journal of Constitutional Law (Nov 2022)
Constitution of Georgia, Primacy of International Law and ex post Constitutional Review of Treaties
Abstract
Georgia belongs to a small group of states where it is permitted to contest the constitutionality of a treaty in force (ex post constitutional review). According to the primacy of international law, a state is not in a position to refuse to fulfil a treaty by referring to its national law, including the unconstitutionality of a treaty. On the other hand, based on the principle of the supremacy of the constitution, the primacy of international law in Georgia is not absolute at the national level, one of the manifestations of which is the ex post constitutional review of treaties. This Article analyses the relationship between the Constitution of Georgia and international law, and it is argued that the Georgian model of the ex post constitutional review of treaties, which may lead to the invalidity of a treaty in force or its norm at the national level, is incompatible with the primacy of international law and requires to modify the ex post review model in a manner that, instead of automatic invalidation, would defer to the executive or legislative branch of the government to eliminate the unconstitutionality.
