Subjects of the right to self-determination in contemporary international law

Abstract

The issue of subjects of the right to self-determination is one of the most controversial issues in the theory of international law. The author, researching etymology, as well as cases of application of concepts “people” and “nation”, pays attention to their interchangeability and sometimes identification. The author proposes to view people (in a narrow sense) as a spatial, related to a particular socio-economic, linguistic, cultural and spiritual way of life, of individuals. Broadly speaking, a people is characterized as a social community that acquires a political identity and thereby becomes a nation, under certain circumstances, a State. The article proposed criteria for the self-determination of peoples and nations in accordance with the current international order and architecture. The research focuses on institutions such as uti possidetis juris and remedial secession. The author’s analysis of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo is of some interest. In considering the problem of indigenous and small-numbered peoples and national minorities, the author proceeds from the possibility that they may exercise their right to self-determination in the form of territorial autonomy or self-organization (self-government), depending on their number, characteristics of resettlement and other circumstances. Both models (territorial and extraterritorial) are designed to give indigenous peoples their identity, based, inter alia, on established traditions and customs, Development in accordance with the fundamental laws of the State and the norms of international law, while preserving the stability and territorial integrity of the State. On the basis of the jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee, various aspects of the legal personality of individuals in the exercise of the right to self-determination have been examined.