The Prespa Agreement between Macedonia and Greece and possible further action(s) related to the validity of the treaty
The Prespa Agreement between Macedonia and Greece and possible further action(s) related to the validity of the treaty

Summary/Abstract: In the present article, we discuss the future and prospects of the Prespa Agreement, concluded on June 17, 2018, between Macedonia and Greece aiming at resolving their “difference”over the name of Macedonia. The analysis is carried out by examining the legal aspects of UnitedNations Security Council Resolution 817 (1993) recommending the admission of Macedonia to UN membership but imposing on the applicant a provisional name (pending the settlement of difference over the applicant’s name), in particular its legal consistence with the provisions ofVienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969) and with the general jus cogens norms of International Law enshrined in the UN Charter. It is concluded that the UN SC Res. 817 (1993) is by itself an ultra vires act and cannot serve as a legal basis for the Prespa Agreement (ex injuria jus not oritur), that the Prespa Agreement violates the provisions of the Vienna Convention onthe Law of Treaties and the peremptory norms of International Law, particularly the principle ofself-determination and enters into legal matters that belong stricto sensu to the domain of domestic jurisdiction of Macedonia. For these reasons the Prespa Agreement cannot be considereda legally valid treaty and, consequently, and Agreement can be subject to unilateral termination under provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969). The appropriate measure of activity in the case of the illegal treaty is to terminate the Agreement with a diplomatic note, as a unilateral legal act expressing a will of the state.

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