Secession and Referendum

Abstract

The book focuses on current developments on territorial changes in International law. The study inquiries about whether according to international law, the referendum is a sufficient or a necessary condition for secession, or both. Through main “cases study”, the book finds that there is no sufficient practice and opinio juris to support the existence of an international rule according to which the referendum is a sufficient element to legitimize the birth of a new entity. Nevertheless, there are at least some elements supporting the view that the referendum is becoming a necessary tool in the process for secession, provided that it complies with certain procedural standards.

Plebiscitarianism Revisited: A Typology of Independence Referendums

“…The Badinter Commission, 4 which was assembled for the conflict in Yugoslavia, used the principle of uti possidetis juris (as you possess under law) for the first time outside the colonial context in order to defend the integrity of the borders of the republics that used to compose Yugoslavia, and it stipulated the use of referendums as a sine qua non condition for gaining international recognition (Pellet, 1992; Kohen, 2006). In fact, in our times, the international community has a tendency to always request referendums when monitoring secession processes, although there is no international law specifically requiring this step (Landi, 2020).…”