The incorporation of international law is the process by which international agreements become part of the municipal law of a sovereign state. A country incorporates a treaty by passing domestic legislation that gives effect to the treaty in the national legal system.[1][2]
Whether incorporation is necessary depends on a country's domestic law. Some states follow a monist system where treaties can become law without incorporation, if their provisions are considered sufficiently self-explanatory.[3] In contrast dualist states require all treaties to be incorporated before they can have any domestic legal effects. Most countries follow a treaty ratification method somewhere between these two extremes.[4]
When a dualist state signs a treaty, the treaty becomes binding only if it is incorporated by a domestic statute.