Book dossier

The break-up of Yugoslavia and international law

by Peter Radan

The demise of the former Yugoslavia was brought about by various secessionist movements seeking international recognition of statehood. This book provides a critical analysis from an international law perspective of the break-up of Yugoslavia.Although international recognition was granted to the former Yugoslav republics of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Macedonia, the claims of secessionist movements that sought a revision of existing internal federal borders were rejected. The basis upon which the post-secession international borders were accepted in international law involved novel applications of international law principles of self-determination of peoples and uti possidetis. This book traces the developments of these principles, and the historical development of Yugoslavia's internal borders.It also charts the course of the various claims to secession within former Yugoslavia, and concludes that they provide no principled legal basis for holding that Yugoslavia's internal administrative borders should have become post-secession international borders.Within this central argument, the work covers several key issues in detail:* The Meaning of 'People'* The Uti Possidetis Principle* Yugoslavia's Constitutional and Legal History* Yugoslavia's Secessions* The arbitration Commission OpinionsStudents and scholars working in the fields of international law and political science will find this thorough and persuasive work both interesting and valuable.