The Creation of New States in International Law: The Cases of South Ossetia’s and Abkhazia’s Unilateral Declarations of Independence

ABSTRACT: In the 21st century, problems related to the territorial status and statehood are likely to continue to be a focal point of international disputes. The creation of states is an active and complex process, which has no end and is likely to continue in the future. The creation of a new state is important not only for a particular state, but for the international community as a whole. In February 2008 the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo and in July 2010 the Advisory Opinion of the ICJ on the accordance with international law of the unilateral declaration of independence in respect of Kosovo raised the question of whether the case of Kosovo could serve as a practical precedent for the legitimacy of the declarations of independence by Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The aim of this study is not to compare the case of Kosovo with the case of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but to use the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo case as a template for assessing the lawfulness of the declarations of independence by South Ossetia and Abkhazia. However, this study goes beyond the advisory opinion of the ICJ and considers whether South Ossetia and Abkhazia meet the criteria of statehood and whether the recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia by the the Russian Federation and some other states was in conformity with international law. Key words: statehood, criteria of statehood, legality, recognition, self-determination. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………