Issues of statehood in the light of United Nations membership

Abstract

The First Chapter deals with the basic principles of Statehood and United Nations membership and with the different Sources of Law which the United Nations uses to recognize an entity as a State. The discussion on basic principles includes the procedure of admission of a State, the criteria an entity must have to become a United Nations member and an explanation of other concepts, such as self-determination and secession, which are important to the topic. The Sources of Law according to Article 38 of the Statute of the ICJ are examined accordingly, with an emphasis on custom and Article 1 of the 1933 Montevideo Convention, which is a source of written law. The Second Chapter examines United Nations practice with regards to the Traditional Criteria of Statehood mentioned in the Montevideo Convention. Applications starting from 1945 are examined to determine problems encountered with regards to population, defined territory, government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states. In each case the practice of the United Nations is considered and it is seen whether this practice gives rise to any customary law. The Third Chapter goes through the notion of independence. Independence has been controversial in admission cases due to the Cold War and the fact that, if a State which is not independent is admitted, it might give more than one vote to another member State which influences it. The various forms of 'lack of independence' are examined through various admission cases. The reaction of the United Nations in each of these cases is then taken into consideration. The Fourth Chapter considers the notion of recognition and examines whether 'recognition' is a requirement for Statehood. The doctrine of non-recognition is then taken in conjunction with the Modem Criteria for Statehood, where these Modem Criteria are identified. It is then seen how the doctrine of Non-Recognition is used to implement these Modem Criteria based on legality. The Fifth Chapter deals with secession, dissolution and succession. The difference between secession and dissolution is brought out in accordance with the basic principles in the First Chapter. Various cases of secession are examined and a set of criteria is established to determine when a secession is legal in the eyes of the United Nations. It is then established when it is possible for a State to succeed a previous State after secession or dissolution. The Sixth Chapter considers potential future cases of States which might apply for United Nations membership. This Chapter demonstrates that the procedure for admitting States into the United Nations is not a thing that belong to the past, but might also come into use in the future. In this regard, the concepts established in the previous Chapters are applied to the cases of Palestine, Taiwan and Quebec and a basic idea is given as to whether these States would be accepted as members if they applied for membership with their present statuses.