| |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
  |
|
 |
|
  |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
The Admission of New States to the International Community
Christian Hillgruber1
Full text available: PDF format *
There are only very few branches of international law which are of greater, or more persistent, interest and significance for the law of nations than the question of Recognition of States ... Yet there is probably no other subject in the field of international relations in which law and politics appear to be more closely interwoven.
Hersch Lauterpacht
Abstract
While the political relevance of the recognition of new states is beyond all doubt, the rules of law which apply to this aspect of public international law remain uncertain. The new practice of recognition of the recently established states of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union since 1991 is said to have overridden the traditional principles of public international law regarding recognition. Indeed, the predominant declarative theory cannot explain this new practice convincingly. The integration of a new state in the international community does not take place automatically, but through co-optation; that is, by individual and collective recognition on the part of the already existing states. By the procedure of recognition, these states exercise their prerogative to determine in advance whether the newcomer, in their judgment, is able and willing to carry out all its obligations as a subject of international law, whether it will be a reliable member of the international community. Therefore, the ability and willingness of the new state to respect international law constitute the central criteria of statehood in terms of international law. They are decisive for the conferment of legal capacity under international law.
* The free viewer (Acrobat Reader) for PDF file is
available at the
Adobe Systems.
1 University of Heidelberg, Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage 6-10, D-69117,
Heidelberg, Germany. This is the English summary of a study to be published in
German under the title, Die Aufnahme neuer Staaten in die
Völkerrechtsgemeinschaft (1998).
© 1990-2004 European Journal of International Law
All comments and suggestions should be sent to webmaster
This site is part
of the Academy of European Law online, a joint partnership of the Jean Monnet Center at NYU School of Law and the Academy of European
Law at the European University
Institute.
This file was last modified:
Tuesday, October 14, 2003 12:54PM