Legislation to implement international agreements

Also called: Article 253 · Topic: Federalism and Centre-State Relations · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

Article 253 lets Parliament make laws on any subject, including subjects in the State List, so that India can carry out a treaty, agreement or convention with other countries, or a decision taken at an international conference or body.

It matters because treaty commitments are made by the Union. Without this power, India could sign a treaty on a subject that only the states can make laws on, and then be unable to honour it. India's main environmental laws rest on this power.

Explanation

How it works

• The Seventh Schedule divides law-making subjects into three lists:
• Union List (List I): only Parliament makes laws.
• State List (List II): normally only state legislatures make laws.

• Concurrent List (List III): both Parliament and the states can make laws.

• Article 253 opens with "notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this Chapter". This means it overrides the normal division of subjects.

• The steps: 1. The Union signs a treaty, agreement or convention, or India takes part in a decision at an international conference or body. 2. Parliament passes a law to carry out that commitment. 3. The law can cover the whole or any part of India, even if its subject is in the State List.

What triggers it

• A treaty, agreement or convention with one or more other countries.
• A decision made at an international conference, association or other body.
• The study note gives the classic example. The 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm) was followed by:
• the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981
• the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

Conditions and limits

• No resolution is needed. Parliament acts on its own. The Rajya Sabha does not have to pass a special resolution (unlike Art. 249), and no state has to ask for the law (unlike Art. 252).
• No state consent is needed. The states have no formal say.
• It does not need an emergency. It works in normal times (unlike Art. 250).
• It is permanent. The law does not lapse after a fixed time. Laws under Arts. 249 and 250 lapse 6 months after the resolution or the emergency ends.
• Its only built-in limit is the purpose. The law must be made to carry out an international commitment. The Constitution's other limits, such as Fundamental Rights, still apply to any law Parliament makes.

In the Constitution and practice

• Where it sits: Article 253, in Part XI (Relations between the Union and the States), Chapter I (Legislative Relations). It is one of four routes by which Parliament can make laws on State List subjects (Arts. 249, 250, 252 and 253). Parliament can also make laws for a state under President's rule (when the Union takes over the running of a state for a time, under Art. 356), through Art. 357.
• Link to the Union List: making and carrying out treaties with foreign countries is itself a Union List subject. Article 253 makes sure Parliament can carry out a treaty even when its subject is in List II.
• Who uses it: Parliament, after the Union executive has made the international commitment.
• Key instances:

• Stockholm Conference (1972) → Air Act 1981 and Environment (Protection) Act 1986. Public health and many local matters belong to the states, but these Acts apply across the country.

• Place in Indian federalism: NCERT (Class 11) calls India a "federalism with a strong central government". Article 253 shows this clearly. Foreign affairs belong to the Centre, so the Centre's law-making power follows its treaty power.

• How it differs from the water and wildlife laws: the Water Act 1974 and the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972 did not use Art. 253. They were passed under Art. 252, after states passed resolutions asking Parliament to make the law.

Don't confuse with

• Article 252 (consent of states): needs resolutions from two or more state legislatures, and the law applies only in states that adopt it. Article 253 needs no state resolution and can cover all of India.
• Article 249 (national interest): needs a Rajya Sabha resolution passed by two-thirds of members present and voting [1]. The resolution lasts 1 year, and the law lapses 6 months after it ends. Article 253 needs no resolution and is permanent.
• Article 250 (national emergency): works only while a national emergency (Art. 352) is in force, and the law lapses 6 months after the emergency ends. Article 253 works in normal times.
• Article 254 (repugnancy): this rule decides which law wins when a Union law and a state law on a Concurrent List subject clash. It does not give Parliament any new subject to legislate on. Article 253 is a source of power, not a rule for settling clashes.

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 253: Parliament can make laws on any subject, including State List subjects, to carry out treaties, agreements, conventions or decisions of international conferences. It needs no state consent and no Rajya Sabha resolution.
• Art. 253 examples: Air Act 1981 and Environment (Protection) Act 1986, both passed after the Stockholm Conference (1972).
• Trap: the Water Act 1974 and the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972 were made under Art. 252 (state resolutions), not Art. 253.
• Which route needs what: Art. 249 needs a Rajya Sabha resolution (two-thirds of members present and voting). Art. 250 needs a national emergency. Art. 252 needs resolutions from two or more states. Art. 253 needs only an international commitment.
• Duration: laws under Arts. 249 and 250 lapse 6 months after the trigger ends. Laws under Arts. 252 and 253 are permanent.
• Territorial reach: a law under Art. 253 can cover the whole or any part of India.

Mains Points

• A strong Centre: unity or imbalance?
• For: India speaks with one voice abroad. Problems that cross state borders, like pollution, need one national rule. Article 253 lets India keep its treaty promises (Stockholm 1972 → Air Act 1981, Environment (Protection) Act 1986).

• Against: any treaty can pull a State List subject to the Centre. States have no formal role in either the treaty or the law that follows. This reach is open-ended, unlike Art. 249, which is triggered by the states' own house, needs a special majority and lapses over time.

• The consultation gap:

• The Sarkaria Commission (1988) and the Punchhi Commission (2010) both said the Union should consult the states before making Concurrent List laws, through the Inter-State Council (Art. 263), which was set up in 1990 [2].

• A reform idea: extend the same practice to treaties that touch State List subjects. The states that must carry out a treaty would then be heard before India signs it. This fits the cooperative federalism approach of NITI Aayog (2015).

• Holding-together federalism: together, Arts. 249-253 show that India's federation was built to keep the country united. Article 253 is the least restricted of these routes. It needs no state request, no special majority, no emergency and no time limit, so how it is used in practice decides how much room the states really keep.

Related concepts

• Parliamentary legislation on the State List in the national interest
• Parliament's power to legislate during a national emergency
• Legislation by consent of states
• Doctrine of repugnancy

Read more

• Parliament's reach into the State List and the rule of repugnancy