Territorial Leasing in Diplomacy and International Law focuses on an unexplored but relatively common practice in which states reallocate their rights on territory without altering formal boundaries or resorting to definitive cessions. As products of diplomacy, leases address a frequent situation that, in extreme cases, can lead to war: the desire by more than one state to exercise sovereign authority in the same place. As instruments of international law, they paradoxically reinforce the territorial integrity of states while raising questions about the nature of their sovereignty. This book draws from a large number of leases to examine the practice from historic to modern times, describing their elements in detail and assessing them from both political and legal perspectives.

States often lease territory from each other for economic or military reasons, but on rare occasions leases have been made with the objective of settling disputes about sovereignty. This book offers the first collective examination of cases in which states have attempted to resolve territorial conflicts this way. It assesses their success and examines the broader potential for leases where sovereignty is contested, particularly in the frontier zones of adjacent states. (livre en anglais uniquement)

This book offers a comprehensive, highly informative and interdisciplinary study on territorial integrity and the challenges globalization, self-determination and external interventions present. This study aims at not only to fill an epistemological gap in this regard, but also answer the question of whether International Law is adequately equipped to help states address these challenges. The author argues that the biggest threat that many states are confronted with today is their disintegration rather than their obsolescence, and that International Law has not often been able to prevent that eventuality. In fact, states, when they were not destroyed by war, managed to survive, thanks to the flexibility of territoriality, i.e. their ability to adjust to difficult situations as they arose. It is this understanding of adaptation that urges an increasing number of states today to revive territorial autonomy and restore an original understanding of self-determination in which democracy is a pivotal factor in establishing congruence between the states and their nations. While this move is endorsed by International Law, it is not the case for globalization; for their own sake, proponents of globalization should recognize that the states are irreplaceable as long as they remain the sole providers of protection for their peoples.

Territorial disputes remain a significant source of tension in international relations, representing an important share of interstate cases brought before international tribunals and courts. Analysing the international law applicable to the assessment of territorial claims and the settlement of related disputes, this Research Handbook provides a systematic exposition and in-depth discussions of the relevant key concepts, principles, rules, and techniques. Combining extensive knowledge from across international law, Marcelo Kohen and Mamadou Hébié expertly unite a multinational group of contributors to provide a go-to resource for the settlement of territorial disputes. The different chapters discuss the process through which states establish sovereignty over a territory, and review the different titles of territorial sovereignty, the relation between titles and effectivités, as well as the relevance of state conduct. Select chapters focus on the impact of foundational principles of international law such as the principle of territorial integrity, the right of self-determination and the prohibition of the threat or use of force, on territorial disputes. Finally, technical rules that are crucial for the assessment of territorial claims, especially the techniques of intertemporal law and critical date, as well as evidentiary rules, are presented. An essential resource for practitioners, international law academics and public officials including judges and arbitrators, this Research Handbook is a highly original collection of scholarship and research on territorial disputes and their settlement.

Cases concerning British colonization of Australia and theory of territorium nullius briefly discussed.

This book proposes a re-interpretation of Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations to read, or at least include, respect for the inviolability of State territory. While States purport to obey the prohibition of the Use of Force, they frequently engage in activities that could undermine international peace and security. In this book the author argues that State practice, opinio juris, as well as contentious and advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice, have promoted the first limb of Article 2(4). Although wars between States have decreased, the maintenance of international peace and security remains a mirage, as shown by the increase in intra- and inter-State conflicts across the world. The author seeks to initiate a rethinking of the provision of Article 2(4), which the International Court of Justice has described as the cornerstone of the United Nations. The author argues that the time is ripe for States to embrace an evolutive interpretation of Article 2(4) to mean respect, as opposed to the traditional view of the threat, or the use, of force. He also evaluates the discourse regarding territorial jurisdiction in cyberspace and argues that the efforts made by the international community to apply Article 2(4) to cyberspace suggest that the article is a flexible and live instrument that should be adjusted to address the circumstances that endanger international peace and security. This book will engineer a serious debate regarding the scope of Article 2(4), which before now has always been limited to the threat or use of force. As a result, it will be of interest to academics and students of public international law, as well as diplomats and policymakers.