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Self-Determination and Humanitarian Secession in International Law of a Globalized World

Kosovo v. Crimea

verfasst von: Prof. Dr. Juan Francisco Escudero Espinosa

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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Über dieses Buch

This book addresses questions in connection with the international legal regime on demands for secession, which have arisen in various States. More specifically, it examines the unilateral declarations of independence by Kosovo in 2008, and by Crimea and its subsequent annexation by the Russian Federation in 2014. The work investigates the two cases so as to shed light on the international legal regime affecting entities that are smaller than a sovereign State. It analyzes the relevant principles of international law, the intention being to determine their scope and review them in light of the most recent practice and developments in international law. In turn, the book examines and explains the events of relevance for international law that occurred in the changing situations in Kosovo and Crimea. On the basis of these legal considerations, it explores how the international community can respond when faced with situations that may violate international law, together with the effectiveness of various measures. It also discusses whether certain situations might be legitimate as a concept could now be emerging that secession may be justified in specific circumstances, such as serious and widespread violations of basic human rights.

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Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Introduction

Abstract

In a speech given before the Members of the highest institutions of the Russian Federation and the Representatives of the Republic of Crimea and Sebastopol, Vladimir Putin spoke out against his colleagues in Western Europe and North America for their incongruous assessments as contrary to international law of the actions and events that led to the independence and later annexation of Crimea. He argued that the circumstances of Crimea, ‘was legitimate and did not require any permission from the country’s central authorities’, because it was a situation similar to that of Kosovo, ‘a precedent our western colleagues created with their own hands’.

Juan Francisco Escudero Espinosa

Self-Determination and Secession Versus Territorial Integrity in International Law

Frontmatter

Chapter 2. The Recognition of the Right to Self-Determination in International Law

Abstract

The concept of self-determination has classically been linked to the idea of self-government. At the present day, a rough definition could be given for self-determination as the right of peoples to decide their own political status. However, at the beginning of the Modern Era the notion was associated rather more with concepts like national or popular sovereignty as understood during the French Revolutionary Period and opposed to the absolute power of a monarchical sovereign.

Juan Francisco Escudero Espinosa

Chapter 3. The Right to Self-Determination and Unilateral Secession

Abstract

The decades following the adoption of the UN Charter were marked by the process of decolonization in which the right to self-determination was invoked, implying as an inherent presumption a demand for independence. Going beyond decolonization in contemporary international law, the question posed is that of the possibility of recognizing a right to secede that is consubstantial to putting self-determination into practice.

Juan Francisco Escudero Espinosa

The Independence of Kosovo and Crimea in the Light of Contemporary International Law

Frontmatter

Chapter 4. Kosovo’s Long Road to Independence in 2008

Abstract

The tumultuous recent history of Kosovo has been the subject of studies constituting a large body of literature. It falls within the context of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), which for a long time constituted a model of integration of nationalities and minorities in a multi-ethnic federal State.

Juan Francisco Escudero Espinosa

Chapter 5. The Crimea’s Declaration of Independence and Annexation to Russia in 2014

Abstract

Historically, Crimea is one of the cradles of Russian origin and identity, the site of Russian military glories and tragedies, a centre of cultural renewal, occupying a special place in the Russian heart. Within the turbulent history of the region, the ceding at the behest of the Ukrainian Nikita Khrushchev of the Crimean Oblast to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on 19 February 1954 may be seen as one of the roots of the present crisis in the Ukraine with regard to Crimea.

Juan Francisco Escudero Espinosa

Chapter 6. The Legality of the Secessions of Kosovo and Crimea

Abstract

Contemporary international law does not prohibit secessions. However, in certain circumstances, an attempt at secession may be illicit because it infringes some norm of general international law, or a lex specialis, as explained in Chap. 3. Thus, effectiveness is not the only requirement for the appearance of a new entity; it is necessary for the creation to be licit through observing the peremptory norms forming international jus cogens, or the requirements in respect of the legal status of the territory set out in a lex specialis. Conformity with international law must be seen as a criterion for statehood alongside the needed effectiveness, so that the latter is a necessary, but not a sufficient requirement.

Juan Francisco Escudero Espinosa

The Emergence of Humanitarian Secession as a Response to Humanitarian Crises

Frontmatter

Chapter 7. The International Community Faced with Illegal Secessions by Sub-State Units

Abstract

In the pages above an attempt has been made to show how events developed, and to analyse the fundamentals asserted, with regard to the unilateral declarations of independence by Kosovo and Crimea from the viewpoint of international law. This chapter will endeavour to study the scope of these declarations within the international community and the consequences they may have on the impact of secession in international law.

Juan Francisco Escudero Espinosa

Chapter 8. The Emergence of Humanitarian Secession as an International Response to Serious Violations of Human Rights

Abstract

The concept of secession is far from having a precise content in current international law. Moreover, this question is particularly controversial when it comes to recognition of a right to secede, which many deem incompatible with the principles upheld by the UN Charter. In view of this, as noted above, it must be concluded that international law takes a neutral position and neither recognizes nor prohibits secession. In contrast, it is unanimously accepted that undertaking secession is illicit when it is linked to infringements of any peremptory norms of international law.

Juan Francisco Escudero Espinosa

Chapter 9. Conclusion

Abstract

Twenty-five years after the historic adoption of Resolution 678 (1990) by the Security Council with the co-operation of all the permanent Member States so as to confront the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, it would appear that dissent has raised its head once more among Members. That was the first time that authority was given to Member States ‘to use all necessary means […] to restore international peace and security’. Among many others, it was followed by Resolution 688 (1991), which attempted ‘to address urgently the critical needs of the refugees and displaced Iraqi populations’. The Yalta Conference of February 1945 laid down the broad lines for today’s Europe, recognizing an international status for the Ukraine, but also bringing the start of the Cold War. Within this same framework antagonism seems to be emerging in the shape of indignant Russian actions triggered by an aggressive Western stance, so characteristic of what some authors interpret as a return to realpolitik.

Juan Francisco Escudero Espinosa

Backmatter

Titel: Self-Determination and Humanitarian Secession in International Law of a Globalized World
verfasst von: Prof. Dr. Juan Francisco Escudero Espinosa
Copyright-Jahr: 2017
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-72622-9
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-72621-2
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72622-9