Self determination (international law) - sustany/dvg GitHub Wiki

Self-determination denotes the legal right of people to decide their own destiny in the international order.� Self-determination is a core principle of international law, arising from customary international law, but also recognized as a general principle of law, and enshrined in a number of international treaties.� For instance, self-determination is protected in the United Nations Charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as a right of �all peoples.��

The scope and purpose of the principle of self-determination has evolved significantly in the 20th century.� In the early 1900�s, international support grew for the right of all people to self-determination.� This led to successful secessionist movements during and after WWI, WWII and laid the groundwork for decolonization in the 1960s.�

Contemporary notions of self-determination usually distinguish between �internal� and �external� self-determination, suggesting that "self-determination" exists on a spectrum.� Internal self-determination may refer to various political and social rights; by contrast, external self-determination refers to full legal independence/secession for the given 'people' from the larger politico-legal state.

See, e.g.:

• Independence of Kosovo (from Serbia), advisory proceedings currently pending before the ICJ.
• Independence of Abhkazia (from Georgia).

See also:

• uti possidetis juris, requiring the maintenance of the territorial status quo to preserve stability, order and traditional legal boundaries (and hence possibly conflicting with principle of self-determination) (Burkina Faso/Mali, ��25-26, pp.16-17 ("At first sight this principle [UPJ] conflicts outright with another one, the right of peoples to self-determination.")