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.