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Secession - State succession

6 important questions on Secession - State succession

Where does state succession focus on?

The replacement of one state by another in the responsibility for the international relations of territory

What are the two conventions that cover state succession and the problems that may arise during that process?

1. The 1987 Vienna Convention on Succession of States in Respect of Treaties
2. The 1983 Vienna Convention on Succession of States in Respect of State Property, archives and debts (not yet in force)

What happens if a state is in continuation?

It may retain the same memberships and Treaties as the old state

Example; Russian federation after the Soviet Union disintegrated
Russia was kept its membership (in the UN)

However Serbia, after Yugoslavia fel apart, was seen as new state and therefore not allowed to keep the UN-membership

What is the principle of uti possidetis juris?

It underlines that geographical boundaries laid dow in treaties remain the same, and therefore forms an exception to the clean slate approach. (this is an exception to the clean slate approach)

This follows from the fact that predictability would be fundamentally undermined if state boundaries were negotiable once a state changes its legal status

What is the clean slate approach (with regard to state succession)?

It holds that the new states are, as a rule of thumb, not bound by the treaties that were concluded by the ''old state''

Except from uti possidetis juris, what is an other exception to the clean slate approach?

This has been made by the UN Human Rights Committee, as they adopted the view that the population of a newly emerged state does not cease to be subject to the protection of human rights conventions during the period that the state is not (yet) a party

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

Werkcollege International and European Law

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