Frozen Conflicts and International Law

Abstract

Cornell International Law Journal: Vol. 50 : No. 3 , Article 1.Scholars (mostly in international relations and politics) and policymakers (in various countries) have referred to a series of conflicts in the space of the former USSR as “frozen conflicts.” Because some now speak of new “frozen conflicts” emerging, it is timely to ask what— if any— legal meaning this expression contains. Moreover, how we characterize these conflicts affects legal and other procedures the parties and others might apply to resolve them. Beyond the open questions of semantics and taxonomy, the so-called “frozen conflicts” merit attention because of their salience to the dispute settlement machinery that they so largely have frustrated.

The Invisible Impact of Frozen Conflicts: A Case Study of Foreign Domestic Workers in Cyprus

“…The secessionist movement must use violence against the rump state, the violence must be suspended by a ceasefire and in its aftermath, a de facto state not recognised by the international community should be created. Alternatively, Grant (2017) believes that a frozen conflict exists when there is an armed hostility between a state and separatists, which results in a change in effective control of territory. The separatists must be making a self-determination claim, must be divided from the rump state by stable lines of separation and the settlement process between the two must be sporadic and inconclusive.…”

“…Two examples illustrate this. The first concerns their access to permanent residency, which is a right afforded to all third-country nationals who have been working in an EU Member State for five years or more 30 . FDW are issued a four-year visa, which they can renew twice for a period of 12 months, while many also fall within the exceptions that allow them to stay in the country for even longer (Ombudsman, 2019, p. 12).…”

Theoretical approaches to studying the post-conflict peacebuilding in ,,prolonged conflicts”: the case of the Republic of Moldova

“…В этой связи возникает термин «замороженных конфликтов». В своем выступлении от 5 ноября 2003 года посол США Александр Вершбоу в совете по международным делам Филадельфии, характеризуя отношения США и России, говорит о необходимости «работать вместе и разрешить, то, что мы называем «замороженными конфликтами» -сепаратистские проблемы в Грузии и Молдове» [1]. Заметим, что существующий к тому моменту конфликт, связанный с образованием непризнанной Турецкой республикой Северного Кипра (июль 1974) не получил такой характеристики.…”

Armed Conflict and the Timing of Childbearing in Azerbaijan

“…While the territorial dispute over Karabakh is often defined as a “frozen conflict” (Grant 2017, 380–382; Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) 2015), the sheer scale of suffering and scars it produced are still visible and periodic skirmishes continue to challenge the lives of both Armenian and Azerbaijani civilian populations. Recent years have seen a worrisome increasing trend in conflict incidents (Figure 1) as well as in the number of casualties (U.S. Department of State 2016; UCDP‐GED 2019).…”