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Decolonization of International Law

Decolonization of International Law State Succession and the Law of Treaties

Author: Matthew Craven
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199577880
Published In: September 2009
Format: Paperback
Jurisdiction: International ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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An original analysis linking the continued legal difficulties surrounding State succession with the political backdrop of decolonization
Examines recent cases including the break up of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia and the unifications of Germany and Yemen
Provides a critical assessment of the failed attempts to codify succession, and an original, pragmatic framework for the future development of the law
Winner of the inaugural European Society of International Law Book Prize 2008

The issue of state succession continues to be a vital and complex focal point for public international lawyers, yet it has remained strangely resistant to effective articulation. The formative period in this respect was that of decolonization which marked for many the time when international law 'came of age' and when the promises of the UN Charter would be realized in an international community of sovereign peoples. Throughout the 1990s a series of territorial adjustments placed succession once again at the centre of international legal practice, in new contexts that went beyond the traditional model of decolonization: the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia, and the unifications of Germany and Yemen brought to light the fundamentally unresolved character of issues within the law of succession.

Why have attempts to codify the practice of succession met with so little success? Why has succession remained so problematic a feature of international law? This book argues that the answers to these questions lie in the political backdrop of decolonization and self-determination, and that the tensions and ambiguities that run throughout the law of succession can only be understood by looking at the relationship between discourses on state succession, decolonization, and imperialism within the framework of international law.

Readership: Scholars and advanced students of international law, self-determination, peoples' rights and the history of international relations.

Introduction
Part One: Critical Diagnostics
1: Introduction
2: The Themes of Succession
3: A Brief History
4: Succession, Identity, and Continuity
5: Bedjaoui, O'Connell, and the 'End' of Succession
6: Conclusions
Part Two: Codification and Decolonization 1950-1974
1: The Move to Codification
2: Initial Steps: The International Law Commission Sub-committee
3: The International Law Association
4: A Change in Focus: The Waldock Reports
5: The Law of Treaties and Beyond
6: New States
7: Semi-Sovereignty: Mandates, Trusteeships and Protectorates
8: Other Categories of Succession
9: Dispositive Treaties
10: Final Moves: The Vienna Conference
11: Reception and Reflection
12: Conclusions
Part Three: New Beginnings, New Ends
1: Introduction
2: Beyond Decolonization
3: The Perils of Formalism: Continuity, Personality, and Identity
4: Treaty Continuity and Automatic Succession
5: Functional Differentiation
6: Conclusions
Conclusions