Towards a Draft Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Self-determination and Forms of Its Realization

Abstract

Introduction. This article elaborates on the idea of Professor Y.A. Reshetov, who published a Draft Convention on the Right of Peoples to Self-Determination in the Moscow Journal of International Law. The Draft Convention represents one of the first attempts to draw attention to the problem of the limits of self-determination in plural states, the forms of implementation and the main subjects of the right of self-determination. The purpose of the study is to develop the relevant ideas of Y.A. R.Reshetov, as well as to introduce new ideas, taking into account the evolving processes of the realization of the right to self-determination in the modern world.

Material and methods. The study is based on international legal instruments, the advi­sory opinions of the International Court of Justice, the jurisprudence of other interna­tional legal bodies and contemporary research of Russian and international scholars. The methods used in this study are: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, compari­son, classification, systematization, prediction, as well as comparative and formal legal approaches.

Research results. The territorial disputes resulting from ethnic, regional and local conflicts are among the most pressing problems in international relations. It is extremely important for any multi-ethnic state, including Russia, to have a genuine scientific awareness of the principle of equality and the self-determination of peoples, adequate forms of its implementation, and how to structure ethnic identity in the system of civil identity. Exploring well-founded solutions to the matters involved will help consolidate world public opinion and ultimately develop an appropriate international legal mechanism under the auspices of the United Nations.

Discussion and conclusion. The article analyses the evolution of the idea of the self-de­termination of peoples, the place of the principle of equal rights and the self-determination of peoples in the system of basic principles of international law. With reference to the range of subjects of the right to self-determination, the specifics of secession, the institutions of uti possidetis juris and delays in secession, as well as questions on the forms and criteria of self-determination of the principal subjects, and the phenomenon of “unrecognized states,” the author presents a Draft Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Self-Determination and the Modalities for its Implementation.