CYIL Vol. 6, 2015

THE CREATION OF NEW STATES AND DE FACTO REGIMES, AND THE CASE OF CRIMEA peninsula. He also said: “I believe that we did the right thing and I have no regrets.” 63 In his announcement the Russian President admitted the annexation of Crimea, which is considered a breach of international law. Conclusion It can be concluded that de facto regimes enjoy partial international legal personality and are bound by both the law of treaties and customary international law. The principle of effectivity prevails in the existence of de facto regimes. Even though these regimes sometimes come into existence as a result of a breach of the norm of international law, the states of the international community tolerate these de facto regimes for various reasons. The reasons can often be political or/and economical. The international community is, in fact, for many reasons incapable of resolving the questions of de facto regimes. One of the reasons for the toleration of these regimes is the protection of the rights of individuals living in such territories. It can be said that the international community prefers pragmatism in relation to such de facto regimes. For this reason de facto regimes also enjoy some international law protection. De facto regimes, however, can survive thanks to other states or deployment of foreign armed forces. They will never be recognized by the international community or a large number of states, and therefore remain in isolation. Their existence depends on the support of a small number of states or the superpowers which recognized them. 64 For example, South Ossetia or Abkhazia, that were recognized by a small number of states, namely Russia. In March 2015, for example, the Integration Treaty between Russia and South Ossetia 65 was concluded. The agreement should strengthen their cooperation in security, defense and international politics but also in social and economic spheres. The treaty was criticized, among others, also by the Czech Republic. These entities can exist for many years. As an example, the so called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which came into existence as a result of military action of Turkey in Cyprus in 1974. It is in the interest of the international community to overcome de facto statehood. As the situation in the Caucasus area demonstrates, they represent so called frozen conflicts that pose a threat for peace in the region, where violence can erupt any time. Military operations currently are taking place in Eastern Ukraine in relation to the creation of so called the Donetsk and the Luhansk People’s Republics which were proclaimed in 2014. Some authors classify them with the group of de facto states. 66 This may be premature, as it is not clear so far if they have become stable regimes, and Russia so far has not supported their separation from Ukraine. 63 Ibid. 64 See: JANKUV, J. a kol. Medzinárodné právo verejné. 1. časť. Plzeň 2015, s. 50 v tisku. 65 See: ČR odsoudila smlouvu Ruska s Jižní Osetijí. Právo z 20. března 2015. 66 Srov. JANKUV, J. a kol. Medzinárodné právo verejné . 1. časť. Plzeň 2015, s. 50 v tisku.

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