UNILATERAL DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE BY STATES AND THEIR RECOGNITION UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW- COMPARING KOSOVO AND CRIMEA

Abstract

There is no doubt that the right to self- determination consists of one of the most controversial rights in international law. In the company, of equally controversial concepts like sovereignty and territorial integrity, it has emerged as a precursor to some of the most acute claims of secession in the world today, including the independence claims of Catalonia, Kurdistan etc. As recent events have shown - for example the Unilateral Declaration of Independence by Kosovo –there is very little that international law can do if a portion of a territory decides to segregate itself from the rest. It is still doubtful whether Kosovo’s act could be called legal under international law. The ICJ judgment in the case of Kosovo, for example, does not adequately clarify the legitimacy of the Declaration. It is in this context one needs to redefine the understanding of Right to Self Determination in International Law. Generally, it accommodates the claims of the people to secede from the host country only in colonial context. But there are claims of independence by people beyond the colonial context. The response of the international community has been varied in different situations with respect to the recognition of the seceding entities as states. This paper is an attempt to analyze the legality of unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo and compare it that of Crimea.