THE RIGHT OF PEOPLES TO SELF-DETERMINATION TO SECESSION: CONSTITUTIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ASPECTS
Abstract
The subject matter of the essay—the phenomenon of secession of a part
of state territory—is analysed from two aspects: the constitutional and the
international one. We tried to explain the legal nature, normative
solutions and consequences of secession, and to prove three hypotheses.
The first hypothesis is that initiating the procedure for secession depends
on certain factors such as ethnic conflicts, religion, and the distribution of
political power in the world. The second hypothesis is that the success of
secession depends on the constellation of the political and military power
in a state. The third hypothesis is that international law still recognises the
final status, although sometimes secession violates the constitutional
norms of the predecessor state. In legal theory, secession is one form of
exercising the right to self-determination. There is no rule in international
law that allows for or prohibits secession. International law lacks precise
standards on how to exercise the right to self-determination. From 1918
on there have been decisions that invoke the right of peoples to selfdetermination,
but no legal norms in international law prescribe in what
cases and how this right can be exercised. In this essay, we also talked
about the dilemma of whether secession of certain territories is a
precedent or whether that particular secession can create a custom.