Analysis of the 2015 Resolution adopted by the Institute of International Law on state succession in matters of state responsibility.

The break-up of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia and the unification of Germany in the 1990s marked the dramatic return to center stage in international law of the issue of State succession. This book deals with one particularly controversial aspect of State succession that until now has not received much attention: the question of State succession to international responsibility. In State Succession to International Responsibility the international lawyer and scholar Patrick Dumberry addresses the question, critical for our times, whether or not a new State may be held responsible for wrongful acts committed before its independence by the predecessor State. He also considers the reverse situation: whether or not a new State may claim reparations for wrongful acts committed before its independence by third parties and which affected the predecessor State or one of its nationals. State Succession to International Responsibility contains the most comprehensive analysis ever published of doctrine and State practice related to these questions. It is the first attempt to examine systematically State conduct, both historical and modern, with a view to identifying the factors and circumstances under which rights and obligations of a predecessor State may be transferred to a new State. Winner 2008 ASIL Certificate of Merit for High Technical Craftsmanship And Utility To Practicing Lawyers And Scholars.

Ongoing work of the International Law Commission on State succession with respect to State responsibility begs the question: how does this new matter fit into the broader concept of State succession? This book presents a detailed analysis of the complete codified field of State succession, with new observations and the relevant elements of State responsibility. Dr. Grega Pajnkihar provides insight into how these two areas of international law are interlinked and why State responsibility should not be treated differently from other matters of succession.

The law of international responsibility is one of international law's core foundational topics. Written by international experts, this book provides an overview of the modern law of international responsibility, both as it applies to states and to international organizations, with a focus on the ILC's work.

Statehood in the early 21st century remains as much a central problem as it was in 1979 when the first edition of The Creation of States in International Law was published. As Rhodesia, Namibia, the South African Homelands and Taiwan then were subjects of acute concern, today governments, international organizations, and other institutions are seized of such matters as the membership of Cyprus in the European Union, application of the Geneva Conventions to Afghanistan, a final settlement for Kosovo, and, still, relations between China and Taiwan. All of these, and many other disputed situations, are inseparable from the nature of statehood and its application in practice. The remarkable increase in the number of States in the 20th century did not abate in the twenty five years following publication of James Crawford's landmark study, which was awarded the American Society of International Law Prize for Creative Scholarship in 1981. The independence of many small territories comprising the 'residue' of the European colonial empires alone accounts for a major increase in States since 1979; while the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the USSR in the early 1990s further augmented the ranks. With these developments, the practice of States and international organizations has developed by substantial measure in respect of self-determination, secession, succession, recognition, de-colonization, and several other fields. Addressing such questions as the unification of Germany, the status of Israel and Palestine, and the continuing pressure from non-State groups to attain statehood, even, in cases like Chechnya or Tibet, against the presumptive rights of existing States, James Crawford discusses the relation between statehood and recognition; the criteria for statehood, especially in view of evolving standards of democracy and human rights; and the application of such criteria in international organizations and between states. Also discussed are the mechanisms by which states have been created, including devolution and secession, international disposition by major powers or international organizations and the institutions established for Mandated, Trust, and Non-Self-Governing Territories. Combining a general argument as to the normative significance of statehood with analysis of numerous specific cases, this fully revised and expanded second edition gives a comprehensive account of the developments which have led to the birth of so many new states.

Note on sources and style

This book is a comprehensive study of secession from an international law perspective.