Whether There is a Right to Remedial Secession Under International Law?
Whether There is a Right to Remedial Secession Under International Law?

Summary/Abstract: Purpose of this article is to determine whether the right to remedial secession exists under the contemporary international law. This question is relevant because intense legal debates concerning an existence of this right has not come to conclusion. Moreover, it is important to answer this question because of a vast number of separatist movements worldwide that base their claim for independence on self-determination and the concept of remedial right to secede. In order to answer the question whether the right to remedial secession exists under the contemporary international law relevant judicial decisions, state practice and opinio juris were analysed. It was concluded that there is no remedial right to secede under the contemporary international law. First, it was determined that international community is reluctant to recognise unilateral attempts of secession. Therefore, consent of parent state is still considered to be an important factor for acceptance of new states. Secondly, there was no single instance of acceptance of entitlement to remedial secession in state practice. Also, there is a split in states opinio juris concerning an existence of remedial right to secede. Furthermore, there is no strong and united opinio juris supporting this notion. Accordingly, weak opinio juris and lack of practical implementation show that remedial secession cannot be considered as a part of the binding international law.

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