Status and (human rights) obligations of non-recognized de facto regimes in international law : : the case of 'Somaliland' : the resurrection of Somaliland against all international 'odds', state collapse, secession, non-recognition, and human rights / / Michael Schoiswohl.

• VerfasserIn: Schoiswohl, Michael,
• Place / Publishing House: The Hague, The Netherlands : : Martinus Nijhoff,, [2004]; ©2004
• Year of Publication: 2004
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource.
• Notes: Includes index.

This volume contains the first comprehensive study of legal issues arising with regard to the self-declared 'Republic of Somaliland' which, after more than 10 years of factual existence, is still facing international non -recognition. The case of Somaliland, in particular its unique position within the collapsed State of Somalia, challenges current international law doctrine regarding the interplay between non-recognition and the creation of States. Based upon an in-depth analysis of international law concerning the criteria of statehood and recognition, the author presents a legal framework against which cases of secession in the context of collapsed States should be measured. In applying this framework to the case of Somaliland, he demonstrates that the entity has established a sufficient level of peace, stability and effective governance to qualify as a State under international law. Given the legal uncertainty surrounding non-recognized de facto regimes such as Somaliland, the study finally attempts to identify legal rules which bind de facto regimes in the process of secession irrespective of their recognition as a State. Proposing a 'functional approach' to de facto regimes, the author argues that such entities are subject to obligations under international (human rights) law to the extent they are assuming governmental tasks.

Table of Contents

Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Table of Contents -- Part I - State Recognition and Secession -- I. Preliminary Remarks -- II. Introduction -- III. Meaning of Recognition -- IV. Recognition of States -- V. The Criteria for Statehood -- VI. The Loss of Statehood and 'Effectiveness' - State Continuity, State Collapse and Extinction of States -- 1. Preliminary Remarks -- 2. Statehood and 'Effectiveness' - State Continuity -- 3. Failed States - State Collapse -- 4. Extinction of States -- 5. Conclusion -- VII. Statehood and Recognition - Constitutive or Declaratory? -- VIII. The 'Synthesis' of Fact and Law - 'Evidentiary' and 'Semi-Constitutive' Function of Recognition -- IX. Secession and Recognition -- 1. Preliminary Remarks -- 2. Secession in General and in the Context of State Collapse -- 3. The Interplay between Secession, Presumption of Continuity and Recognition -- 4. Concluding Remarks -- X. Self-Determination and Recognition -- 1. Preliminary Remarks -- 2. The "Right" to Self-Determination - An Overview -- 3. Self-Determination, Recognition and the 'Thresholds of Effectiveness' -- XI. Conclusion -- 1. Preliminary Remarks -- 2. Variants of Non-Recognition -- 3. Non-Recognition and Secession - A Summary -- 4. A Word to State Practice and Methodology -- 5. Policy and Philosophy -- Part II - The Statehood of Somalialand -- I. Somalia and Somalialand -- 1) History of Somalia -- i. Colonization -- ii. Independence -- iii. Dictatorship -- iv. The Somali Civil War -- 2) History of Somaliland and its 'Independences' -- i. Colonial History -- ii. Somaliland's Independence in 1960 -- iii. The Somaliland Population after the Civil War in Somalia -- iv. The Declaration of lndependence in 1991 -- v. The Civil War in Somaliland -- 3) Somalia Today -- 4) Somalia - A Failed, Collapsed, or Presumed State?.

5) Somaliland Today -- i. The Situation within Somaliland -- ii. Somaliland's Position in relation to Somalia -- II. Independence of Somalialand - Secession vs. Dissolution (of Somalia) -- 1) Preliminary Remarks -- 2) Possible General (non-Legal) Justifications -- i. Socio-historical - A Greater Somalia vs. Somaliland: the 'Myth' of a Somali Nation-State -- ii. Economical -- iii. Ethnical -- iv. Political -- v. International -- 3) Legal 'Justifications' for Secession -- i. Introduction -- ii. Historic Title - The 1960 Act of the Union and Restoration of Statehood -- iii. Self-Determination -- A. Introduction -- B. Denied Decolonization - The Analogy to the Eritrean Case -- C. 'Contemporary' Self-Determination -- iv. Human Rights Violations -- v. Conclusion -- III. Non-Recognition of Somaliland -- 1) Somaliland - Fulfilling the Criteria of Statehood? -- 2) A Decade of Unrecognized Independence -- 3) Reasons for Non-Recognition? -- i. Historical -- ii. Regional -- iii. International -- IV. Is Somaliland a State? -- 1) Applying the Law of Recognition: Presumptions and Effectiveness -- 2) Impact of Non-Recognition -- i. Internal -- ii. External/International -- V. Conclusion -- Part III - Human Rights Obligations of Non-Recognized Entities - The Case of Somaliland -- I. Preliminary Remarks -- II. Introduction -- III. Subjects of International Law -- 1) Subjects of International Law - General -- 2) Insurgents and Belligerents -- 3) De Facto Regimes -- 4) Conclusion -- IV. Non-Recognized Entities and 'Human Rights' Obligations -- 1) Preliminary Remarks -- 2) Statehood despite Non-Recognition: Customary Obligations -- 3) Obligations of De Facto Regimes Below the Threshold of Statehood -- i. General -- ii. De Facto Regimes and Human Rights Agreements -- A. El Salvador -- B. Guatemala -- C. Other Cases -- D. Conclusion.

iii. 'Self-imposed' Human Rights Obligations -- iv. Minimum 'Standards of Humanity' Regarding De Facto Regimes -- A. Minimum Obligations under International Humanitarian Law -- B. Declarations of Minimum Humanitarian Standards and Codes of Conduct -- C. Genocide, Crimes against Humanity and Torture -- v. Obligations of De Facto Regimes -- A. General -- B. Obligations of De Facto Regimes with Respect to 'Third' States -- C. Responsibility of De Facto Regimes for 'Internal' Human Rights -- D. 'Knock, Knock' - Is There Any Law? -- E. 'Indirect' Human Rights Obligations -- a) General -- b) Validity of Legal Acts of Non-Recognized Entities -- c) 'Devolution' of and 'Succession' to Human Rights 'Obligations' (Limitations) -- d) Limited International Personality and Human Rights Obligations: The 'Functional' Approach -- e) Concluding Remarks -- vi. Human Rights - The Rights of People -- V. Excursus: Human Rights Obligations of a 'Parent' State with Respect to Non-Recognized Entities, Particularly in the Context of a Collapsed State -- 1) Collapsed States and Human Rights Obligations under International Law -- 2) Responsibility of Collapsed States for De Facto Regimes -- VI. Conclusion -- 1) General -- 2) Application of Different Layers to Somaliland -- 3) Policy Issues and Prospect -- Part IV - Summary Conclusions -- Part V - Abbreviations, Resources and Annexes -- I. Abbreviations -- II. Index of Authorities -- 1) Treaties -- 2) Peace Agreements -- 3) UN Documents and other Instruments -- 4) International Cases, Arbitral Awards and Advisory Opinions -- 5) Domestic Cases and Administrative Decisions -- 6) Treaties, Digests and Books -- 7) Journals and Yearbooks -- 8) News Reports -- 9) Miscellaneous -- Annex I - Map of Somalia -- Annex II - Map of Somaliland -- Annex III - Historical Map of Colonial Borders in Africa -- Index.