International Legal Personality and Statehood Criteria
The State: Primary Subject of International Law
The State is the most important legal person under Public International Law. Legal personality means the capacity to hold rights and bear obligations enforceable at law. While individuals possess legal personality by nature, and other entities acquire it through legal fiction, States enjoy original and full international legal personality.
Emergence and Criteria for Statehood
Statehood emerges from fact to law. Today, it is no longer possible to create States through occupation of terra nullius or colonial expansion. State creation is mainly the result of the division, dissolution, or transformation of existing States, as illustrated by the cases of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia. The legal criteria for statehood are codified in the 1933 Montevideo Convention:
- Permanent population
- Defined territory
- Government
- Capacity to enter into international relations
Recognition and Self-Determination
Recognition and self-determination play a relevant role, especially in cases where territorial control is disputed or incomplete, such as Palestine or Kosovo. However, international law does not support secession from democratic States, except in specific decolonization contexts.
Fundamental Rights of States
The fundamental rights of States include:
- Independence: This implies sovereignty, jurisdiction over territory and population, and the duty of non-intervention.
- Equality: This means legal equality of all States, regardless of their power, although in practice political influence modifies this principle.
- Peaceful Coexistence: This requires non-aggression, good faith, and respect for territorial integrity.
Finally, States become extinct through merger, absorption, or dissolution, but never through the illegal use of force, as illustrated by Kuwait in 1990.
State Succession in International Law
State succession refers to the replacement of one State by another in the responsibility for the international relations of a territory. Since States are subject to change, international law seeks to prevent disruption and instability, especially after major historical processes such as decolonization.
Key Issues in Succession
Succession mainly raises problems concerning treaties, debts, public property, and nationality.
Succession Regarding Treaties
With regard to treaties, the 1978 Vienna Convention on Succession of States distinguishes between different categories:
- Territorial treaties, such as boundary agreements, remain binding upon the new State, following the principle of uti possidetis.
- Political treaties, such as alliances or neutrality agreements, do not bind the successor State.
- For multilateral treaties, there is a tendency towards automatic succession, while bilateral treaties usually follow a “clean slate” approach.
Assets and Debts
Regarding assets and debts, the 1983 Vienna Convention establishes that these issues should be settled by agreement between the concerned States. It also protects archives and addresses the question of acquired rights of individuals.
Nationality Issues
As for nationality, international law aims to prevent situations of statelessness. This is reflected in the 1961 UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and the 1997 European Convention on Nationality. Solutions should normally be agreed upon by the States involved, using either automatic or optional mechanisms.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the law of State succession seeks to ensure legal continuity and stability, while adapting to political transformations.