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consequences of the loss of the whole territory of a state and whether such a situation
results in the termination of the state. As the debates on-going in some island states (
e.g.
the Maldives) show, this originally rather theoretical question continuously becomes
more and more practical, raising a lot of practical and legal problems.
The second panel dealt with questions of international legal norms applicable
during the process of the formation of states. Firstly, the issue of the application of the
rule of law during the dissolution and formation of states was presented based on the
example of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In such situations the principle
ex iniuria ius non
oritur
and the non-violation of
ius cogens
norms are of great importance when all criteria
of statehood (Montevideo Convention) are fulfilled. The last contribution of the panel
focused on issues concerning international legal responsibility for violations of human
rights during secession by different subjects to the secession – states, insurrection
movements and individuals – by means of international criminal responsibility.
The third panel of presentations approached the Kosovo ICJ Advisory opinion
from various perspectives. Issues such as the general concept of recognition in
modern international law were addressed. The first presentation of the panel dealt
with collective recognition and questions of whether and how this is perceived by the
international community and with respect to and within international organizations.
The following presentation then debated the creation of Kosovo in the light of ICJ
Advisory opinion and its integration in the international community. Furthermore the
issue of Kosovo’s independence and its implication for international law was debated.
The panel was closed by a discussion on legal aspects of the non-recognition of a state.
The last panel, which took place in the morning of the second conference
day (10 May), was dedicated to the international aspects of the dissolution of the
Czech and Slovak Federative Republic and the successive creation of two new states,
the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The first presentation of the panel
raised the issue of the succession of the independent Slovak Republic to diplomatic
relations of the former Czechoslovakia and the succession to international treaties of
the former Czechoslovakia and their position in the Slovak constitutional order. The
following presentation analysed the spectrum of bilateral treaties between the Czech
Republic and Slovak Republic on the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The author has
counted more than one hundred and fifty bilateral agreements, protocols and mutual
understandings on different aspects related to the dissolution and dated from 1992
to 2008. The panel was closed by a presentation on a Czechoslovakian note with
the topic of the future: the creation of a state by the fusion of two state units. The
presentation was titled “20 years from the dissolution of the Czechoslovakia – how
many years to the fusion?”.
The extensive debates during the conference and also the number of participants
have shown the importance and relevance of the topic of States’ formation and
disappearance in both the theory and practice of international law. When listening
to the contributions of conference participants one could clearly link their content
to the current discussions taking place in the international community. However, the