Journal of Politics and Law; Vol. 12, No. 2; 2019 ISSN 1913-9047 E-ISSN 1913-9055 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 23 The Balanced Obligation and the Basis for Compliance in International Law: Reflections on the Question of International Obligation Thomas Prehi Botchway 1 1 Law School, Chongqing University, Shapingba, Chongqing, China Correspondence: Thomas Prehi Botchway, Law School, Chongqing University, Shapingba, Chongqing, China. E-mail: abeikuprehi@yahoo.com; prehionline@gmail.com Received: March 7, 2019 Accepted: March 22, 2019 Online Published: May 30, 2019 doi:10.5539/jpl.v12n2p23 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/jpl.v12n2p23 Abstract In this essay, we use the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in developing countries (specifically, the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Ghana) to illustrate why and how States can implement international agreements and for that matter comply with international law without necessarily compromising on equally implementing effective policies to meet their domestic responsibility, particularly when such MEAs may be deemed by some as instruments that curtail the enjoyment of benefits from a State’s natural resources and endowments. The essay examines the nexus between compliance with international law (international obligation) and meeting domestic responsibility (particularly when the international treaty or agreement to be complied with seems to have some negative implications for the domestic population or State policy). Do States always have an incentive to comply with and execute their international obligations? Should the need for or argument against an international agreement or treaty necessarily lead to its abandonment by States? Can States effectively balance the execution of international obligation with meeting domestic responsibility? Should the effective implementation of a State’s international obligation be regarded as a zero sum for the State’s domestic responsibility? What should be the basis for compliance in international law? These are some of the few questions that this essay seeks to address. Keywords: international law, international obligation, domestic responsibility, balanced obligation, compliance 1. Introduction (Note 1) Evidence exists in our world to show that in the current International System States usually implement treaties or conventions and customary international law in accordance with their own understanding of what international law is and not necessarily what it ought to be. Even when the wordings of treaties are very clear, precise and categorical, some States have attempted to reinterpret the texts of legally agreed documents. (Chayes & Chayes, 1986) Moreover, despite divergent views on the nature of international law and its relations with domestic or municipal law, studies have shown that there are two main approaches to international law and that each approach takes into consideration how international law relates to national law. These are namely the monist theory which asserts that “there is one all-embracing legal order comprising international and national law”, and the dualists view which stipulates that there are “two separate legal systems; international and national.” (UNESCO, 2011, p. 64) Eventually, while proponents of the monist approach assert that incorporation is the basis for the application of international law at the municipal level, dualists claim that since the two are different sets of law, there is the need for a ‘transformation’ of the former by way of a statute or an Act of Parliament for it to be applicable in the latter. (D'Amato, 2009; Hamid & Sein, 2005) Though these theories of international law would have served as an ideal starting point for explaining the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in developing countries, the essay takes the position that theorizing about the types of law would not necessarily lead to a better explanation of why the State does what it does. Of course, the monists and dualist theories of law would only be able to explain why a certain convention, treaty, or agreement will be ratified, and the processes involved in such ratification, but will be insufficient in explaining what happens after ratification. It is here that the essence and questions about the