Non-Consensual Secession and The Law of Nations: The Contested Legal Scholarship on the Law of Self-Determination, Recognition and Statehood in International Law
type: CreativeWork
description: The conventional legal scholarship on the law of self-determination, recognition and statehood in international law makes five arguments. First, although the concept of statehood has not been satisfactorily defined, statehood has been governed by international law in several key aspects. Second, the right to self-determination has become a well-established right under international law, and the creation of the majority of states in contemporary international law, particularly in the UN era, was the result of the application of the right to self-determination. As a consequence of the recognition of the right to self-determination, no state can be created in violation of this right. Third, international law is a coherent system, especially when considering concepts such as recognition and statehood. Fourth, the recognition of a new state is declaratory, and the constitutive doctrine of recognition is unsound. Fifth, secession as a usual method of state creation is not regulated by international law. This thesis investigates the legal evolution of the right to self-determination in terms of non-consensual secession and examines the relationship between self-determination, recognition and statehood. In contrast to conventional legal scholarship, this thesis first argues that the creation of states is largely left unregulated and uncodified by international law. Second, although many contested cases can be theoretically formulated and justified under the doctrine of self-determination in international law, in practice, self-determination has played a minor role in the creation and recognition of new states in contemporary international law. Third, rather than being a coherent system, international law is actually a primitive and undeveloped system of law, especially when it comes to concepts such as self-determination, secession, recognition and statehood. Fourth, the thesis adheres to the constitutive doctrine of recognition and maintains that any entity that is seeking…
abstract: The conventional legal scholarship on the law of self-determination, recognition and statehood in international law makes five arguments. First, although the concept of statehood has not been satisfactorily defined, statehood has been governed by international law in several key aspects. Second, the right to self-determination has become a well-established right under international law, and the creation of the majority of states in contemporary international law, particularly in the UN era, was the result of the application of the right to self-determination. As a consequence of the recognition of the right to self-determination, no state can be created in violation of this right. Third, international law is a coherent system, especially when considering concepts such as recognition and statehood. Fourth, the recognition of a new state is declaratory, and the constitutive doctrine of recognition is unsound. Fifth, secession as a usual method of state creation is not regulated by international law. This thesis investigates the legal evolution of the right to self-determination in terms of non-consensual secession and examines the relationship between self-determination, recognition and statehood. In contrast to conventional legal scholarship, this thesis first argues that the creation of states is largely left unregulated and uncodified by international law. Second, although many contested cases can be theoretically formulated and justified under the doctrine of self-determination in international law, in practice, self-determination has played a minor role in the creation and recognition of new states in contemporary international law. Third, rather than being a coherent system, international law is actually a primitive and undeveloped system of law, especially when it comes to concepts such as self-determination, secession, recognition and statehood. Fourth, the thesis adheres to the constitutive doctrine of recognition and maintains that any entity that is seeking…
author: Pourkermani, Kian
language: en
date published: 2018
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:42:44Z
provider: Oxford Brookes University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Oxford Brookes University

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.24384/krsn-7839