| Publication |
2011.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Unrecognized claimants to statehood (UCSs), as referred to in this article, are political communities that meet many of the criteria of a state according to international law, but whose claims to statehood do not receive unequivocal recognition by existing states generally or collective recognition by the international community as a whole through admission to the United Notions as a member-state. Since the end of World War II, a considerable number of UCSs have emerged under varied circumstances, such as protracted conflict within a state, secession, or as a result of a collective policy of non-recognition by the international community. This article suggests that although the lack of general recognition does affect the international legal position of a UCS and the exercise of its rights and duties, it does not render such an entity legally nonexistent. Generally speaking, where the existence of a UCS does not involve a violation of international law, other states have acknowledged the separate international legal capacity of that entity and conducted extensive dealings with it. By contrast, where a UCS is created by acts violating international law, a collective policy of non-recognition can become alarm of sanction that leads to greater limitations on the dealings of the entity concerned with the inter-national community, to the extent that its separate identity under international law may become doubtful. A comparative analysis of Taiwan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus reflects a considerable degree of consistency in state practice as regards how the positions of UCSs are tackled under international law.
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