Revisiting the Principle of Self-Determination
Revisiting the Principle of Self-Determination

Author(s): Vladislav Tolstykh
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar Sp. z o.o.
Keywords: international law; principle of self-determination; sovereignty; human rights; general will
Summary/Abstract: The principle of self-determination is a norm including the three alternative ideas of sovereignty, the general will and human rights. The international community opts for one of these ideas in each particular case, on political expediency grounds. The principle is thus consensual, voluntaristic and constitutive. This approach has disadvantages: it involves the so - lution of major political issues by external actors; it is not compatible with the principles of predictability and certainty; and it does not provide answers to substantial issues. There are several strategies to overcome these problems: application of the principle of proportionality in order to mitigate contradictions between ideas, introduction of some super principle; li - miting the application of uti possidetis iuris, and removal of the international community from the solution of problems relating to the formation and disintegration of states.

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