Articles 51 and 253 of the Constitution
Chapter Twenty-One
Syllabus topic 1, "Environmental Federalism and International Order"
Pages 62 to 64 of 663
In one line
Article 51 tells the State to respect international law and Article 253 gives Parliament the power to enact it, and the two together are the whole constitutional route by which an environmental treaty enters India.
In exam wording: Article 51 of the Constitution of India, a directive principle, requires the State to endeavour to promote international peace and security, maintain just and honourable relations between nations, foster respect for international law and treaty obligations, and encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration; Article 253 confers on Parliament the power, notwithstanding the distribution of legislative powers, to make any law for the whole or any part of India for implementing any treaty, agreement or convention with any other country, or any decision made at any international conference, association or other body.
The provisions themselves
Article 51. The State shall endeavour to promote international peace and security, maintain just and honourable relations between nations, foster respect for international law and treaty obligations in the dealings of organised peoples with one another, and encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration.
Article 51 is in Part IV. Article 37 provides that the directive principles are not enforceable by any court but are nevertheless fundamental in the governance of the country and it is the duty of the State to apply them in making laws. So Article 51 cannot be sued upon, and it is very far from useless: it is the interpretive hook for reading international law into Indian law.
Article 253. Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this Chapter, Parliament has power to make any law for the whole or any part of the territory of India for implementing any treaty, agreement or convention with any other country or countries or any decision made at any international conference, association or other body.
The chapter it overrides is Chapter I of Part XI, which contains Article 245, the extent of laws made by Parliament and by State legislatures, and Article 246, the distribution of subjects between the Union List, the Concurrent List and the State List.
Broken down
The words that do the work in Article 253 are "notwithstanding" and "any".
- Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this Chapter. Article 246's distribution does not apply. Parliament may legislate on a State List subject.
- Any law. There is no limit on subject matter within the treaty's scope.
- For the whole or any part of the territory of India. The law may be regional. A convention affecting only the coast could be implemented by a coastal law.
- Any treaty, agreement or convention. No formality is required beyond that it is one of these.
- Or any decision made at any international conference, association or other body. This is the widest limb and the least noticed. A decision of a conference of the parties, or of the Stockholm Conference itself, is enough. The preamble to the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 relies on exactly this limb, reciting the decisions taken at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held at Stockholm in June 1972.
Articles 51 and 253 of the Constitution
The Indian environmental statutes and their sources
| Act | Route | The recital |
|---|---|---|
| Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974 | Article 252, on resolutions of twelve State legislatures | Water is a State subject |
| Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981 | Article 253 | Recites the decisions taken at Stockholm in June 1972 |
| Environment (Protection) Act 1986 | Article 253 | Recites the decisions taken at Stockholm and the need to implement them |
That table is worth memorising. It is the concrete answer to "how does an international environmental obligation become Indian law", and it names the two different routes actually used.
Worked example
Sunil argues that the Air Act 1981 is beyond Parliament's competence, because public health and sanitation is entry 6 of the State List.
- Is he right about the entry? Yes, public health is a State subject.
- Does that decide it? No. The Act's preamble recites the Stockholm decisions and it was enacted under Article 253.
- Does the treaty have to require exactly what the Act does? The link must be genuine, but the limb "any decision made at any international conference" is wide, and no Indian court has struck down an environmental statute on this ground.
- Could Parliament use Article 253 to do anything at all? No. The power is to implement, and a law with no real connection to any international instrument could be challenged as a colourable exercise.
Article 51 at work
Article 51 is not enforceable, and it has still decided cases, because it supplies the presumption that Parliament does not intend to legislate contrary to India's international obligations. Three uses recur:
- Interpreting a statute so as to conform to a treaty India has ratified.
- Filling a gap in domestic law by reference to customary international law, which is the route the Supreme Court took in Vellore Citizens' Welfare Forum v. Union of India.
- Reading a fundamental right in the light of an international instrument, which is what the Court did in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan and, in this subject, in M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India.
What it does NOT mean
Article 253 does not make a treaty part of Indian law. It gives Parliament a power. Until Parliament uses it, the treaty is not enforceable in an Indian court against a private person.
Article 51 is not a source of rights. Article 37 makes the directive principles unenforceable. What Article 51 gives is an interpretive obligation.
Articles 51 and 253 of the Constitution
Article 253 does not create a permanent Union competence. It authorises a law to implement an obligation. It does not transfer the subject to the Union List for other purposes.
Quick revision
- Article 51: fostering respect for international law and treaty obligations; a directive principle, unenforceable under Article 37.
- Article 253: Parliament may make any law for the whole or any part of India to implement a treaty or a decision of an international conference, notwithstanding Article 246.
- The wide limb is "any decision made at any international conference", which the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 relies on.
- Water Act 1974 came by Article 252; Air Act 1981 and Environment (Protection) Act 1986 by Article 253.
- Article 51 works through interpretation, gap-filling and the reading of fundamental rights.
Test yourself
1. Which words in Article 253 override the legislative lists? "Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this Chapter", which displaces Articles 245 and 246.
2. Is Article 51 enforceable? No. Article 37 makes the directive principles unenforceable by any court, though they are fundamental in the governance of the country.
3. Which Indian environmental Act was passed on State resolutions rather than under Article 253, and why? The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974, under Article 252, because water is a State List subject and twelve State legislatures passed the necessary resolutions.
The rest of this subject
These notes are cut from the University's printed syllabus. Open the syllabus itself, or the past papers, for the same subject.