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contains the obligation of the parties to terminate violence and supports the view
that it is a regime according to international law. On the other hand, the government
of South Ossetia does not exercise effective control over the whole territory, and
the government and economy depend on Russia. This, however, is not an obstacle
to characterizing this entity as a
de facto
regime, even if it lacks sovereignty. A high
degree of dependence on Russia is the reason for stability and durability of this entity.
The same can be applied to other entities like Northern Cyprus, which is connected
with Turkey.
It can be said that the characteristic feature of the stable
de facto
regimes is the
lack of recognition.
23
Recognition brings an end to this regime and awards it with
statehood. The history of the GDR, however, shows that recognition by its allies, in
this case the members of the Eastern Bloc, is not sufficient for the elimination of the
status of being a stable
de facto regime.
24
The same can be expected in the case of the
recognition of South Ossetia by Russia and Nicaragua, which was rejected by the
Council of Europe as a
violation of international law
. The Parliamentary Assembly
condemned Russia’s recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia
as a violation of international law and Council of Europe statutory principles by its
Resolution 1633(2008). Russia behaved in a way similar to Turkey with respect to
Northern Cyprus and similarly unsuccessfully.
25
In legal doctrine there are various approaches to de facto regimes
. In. Frowein’s
conception
de facto
regimes are various unrecognized entities that are relatively stable
and control certain territory. They could be whole states or an otherwise delimited
territory. J. van Essen
26
distinguishes
de facto
regimes from others that are, however,
rather similar, namely
de facto
states. A
de facto state
is a geographical and political
entity that has all the features of a state but is unable to achieve any degree of
substantive recognition and therefore remains illegitimate in the eyes of international
society (at least part of the states). The entity that constitutes a
de facto
state seeks
full constitutional independence and widespread recognition as a sovereign state. He
considers the Republic of Kosovo as an example of a
de facto
state.
De facto
regimes, on the other hand, aspire to be recognized by the international
community as being the
official government of an already existing
state.
While
the de
facto state
pursues secession or independence from its parent state
, the de facto
regime
seeks to be recognized as the official government, leaving the parent state and its
territories intact.
23
Heintze, H. J. De Facto Regimes Bound by Human Rights?, p. 270.
24
Ibid.
25
Ibid.
26
VAN ESSEN, J. De facto Regimes in International Law. MERKOURIOS Utrecht Journal of International
and European Law. 2012, volume 28, p. 32-33.