Abstract
After having provided the larger framework that allows for consideration of what I call non-state actors and non-binding instruments, we need to step back into the world of lawyers and take a look at the undisputed law on minority rights and self-determination. Several points will become clear from this chapter. For one, it will become clear that the hard law on minority rights and self-determination is very limited in quantity. For another, its significance is difficult to determine as the treatment of minority rights or self-determination sometimes remains extremely superficial. Only together with Chap. 4, a comprehensive picture of the regimes on minority rights and self-determination emerges.
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Notes
- 1.
Brownlie (2008), p. 5.
- 2.
Menon (1989), p. 114.
- 3.
See Sect. 4.2.1.
- 4.
Art. 2 (1) VCLT.
- 5.
The ICJ found the United Nations had international legal personality. This includes entering into treaties and making claims for reparations. International Court of Justice (1949) Reparation for Injuries Suffered in the Service of the United Nations Advisory Opinion of 11 April 1949: I.C.J. Reports 1949, p. 174, esp. p. 179. International legal personality is not an automatic right but must be conveyed on an international organization. Thus, the European Communities can enter into treaties while the European Union could not until the Treaty of Lisbon explicitly changed this.
- 6.
Thornberry (1989), p. 874.
- 7.
Art. II Genocide Convention (1948) As published in Ghandi, P. R. (Ed.), Blackstone’s International Human Rights Documents, 3rd. ed., Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2002.
- 8.
Lerner (2003), p. 151; see also B. Whitaker (1985) The Whitaker Report UN Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/1985/6, p. 17.
- 9.
Castellino (2000), p. 61.
- 10.
UN Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/1984/SR.4 as quoted in Lerner (2003), p. 151.
- 11.
Thornberry (1994), p. 15.
- 12.
- 13.
Valentine (2004), p. 455.
- 14.
Valentine (2004), p. 458.
- 15.
Preamble ICCPR (1966) As published in Brownlie, Ian (Ed.), Basic Documents in International Law, 5th ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002, pp. 205–221.
- 16.
Anghie (2006), p. 457.
- 17.
Para. 9 Human Rights Committee (1994) General Comment No. 23: The Rights of Minorities (Art. 27) UN Doc. CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.5.
- 18.
Provisions on positive discrimination recur in art. 4 (2) & (3) Phillips, A (2002): The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities: A Policy Analysis, Minority Rights Group International, London.
- 19.
Para. 1 Explanatory Report to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (1995) As published in Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities – Collected Texts, 4th ed., Council of Europe, 2007, pp. 17–35, Strasbourg.
- 20.
Para. 2 Explanatory Report to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (1995) As published in Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities – Collected Texts, 4th ed., Council of Europe, 2007, pp. 17–35, Strasbourg.
- 21.
See Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (1990) Recommendation 1134 (1990) on the Rights of Minorities CoE Doc. PACE Rec. 1134 (1990); Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (1993) Recommendation 1201 (1993) on an Additional Protocol on the Rights of Minorities to the European Convention on Human Rights CoE Doc. PACE Rec. 1201 (1993) and Council of Europe Summit (1993) Vienna Declaration, 08 October 1993, https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=621771. Accessed 06 May 2014.
- 22.
Art. 14 ECHR.
- 23.
For a definition of the term ‘minority’ and the distinctions between national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities see Sect. 8.1.1.
- 24.
Art. 11 Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (1993) Recommendation 1201 (1993) on an Additional Protocol on the Rights of Minorities to the European Convention on Human Rights CoE Doc. PACE Rec. 1201 (1993).
- 25.
The ECtHR was to be given competence to give advisory opinions on the interpretation of the FC. Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (2000) Draft Protocol to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (on the Interpretation of the Convention) CoE Doc. CM Doc. CM(2000)133 rev.
- 26.
Para. 37 Explanatory Report to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (1995) As published in Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities – Collected Texts, 4th ed., Council of Europe, 2007, pp. 17–35, Strasbourg.
- 27.
Preamble Explanatory Report to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (1995) As published in Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities – Collected Texts, 4th ed., Council of Europe, 2007, pp. 17–35, Strasbourg.
- 28.
Art. 20 Phillips, A (2002): The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities: A Policy Analysis, Minority Rights Group International, London.
- 29.
Art. 21 Phillips, A (2002): The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities: A Policy Analysis, Minority Rights Group International, London.
- 30.
In other words, the FC leaves a margin of appreciation to the states on how to implement the convention. See Benvenisti (1999) for a particularly critical discussion of this approach when it concerns minorities. Art. 14 (2) has been criticized for its extreme unclear and vague wording. There are too many restrictions and conditions attached for effective language protection based on this provision. On the other hand, the flexibility leaves room for negotiations in the monitoring process and best practices can be established.
- 31.
For example the Danish restriction of the FC to the German minority in Southern Jutland. See Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (2000) Opinion on Denmark CoE Doc. ACFC/INF/OP/I(2001)005, p. 1 and Committee of Ministers (2005) Resolution on the Implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities by Denmark CoE Doc. Res CMN(2005)9, p. 2.
- 32.
Pan & Pfeil (2006), p. 468.
- 33.
Art. 1 (2) UNC.
- 34.
Higgins (1994), p. 112.
- 35.
Sureda (1973), pp. 97–99.
- 36.
See Chap. 9.
- 37.
McGoldrick (1991), pp. 247–248.
- 38.
- 39.
See Thornberry (1989), pp. 878–879.
- 40.
- 41.
Hannum (1993), p. 26.
- 42.
- 43.
Higgins (1994), p. 116.
- 44.
Arts. 3 & 4, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (1993) Recommendation 1201 (1993) on an Additional Protocol on the Rights of Minorities to the European Convention on Human Rights CoE Doc. PACE Rec. 1201 (1993).
- 45.
Art. 10 (2), art. 11 (3), art. 14 (2) FC. See Albanese (1996), p. 309.
- 46.
Commission on Human Rights (1947) Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities – First Session UN Doc. E/CN.4/52, p. 310. The Standing Conference of Local and Regional Authorities speaks of participation of minorities in public administration. See para. II. 4 Res. 232 (1992).
- 47.
Fidler (1996), p. 198.
- 48.
The terms ‘custom’ and ‘customary international law’ are used interchangeably in this chapter.
- 49.
Fidler (1996), p. 200.
- 50.
Para. 8 Manley O. Hudson (1950) Article 24 of the Statute of the International Law Commission UN Doc. A/CN.4/16.
- 51.
Paras. 16–62 Manley O. Hudson (1950) Article 24 of the Statute of the International Law Commission UN Doc. A/CN.4/16.
- 52.
See for example the International Court of Justice (1952) Rights of United States Nationals in Morocco Judgement Case Concerning the Rights of United States Nationals in Morocco (France v. United States of America), 27 August 1952: I.C.J. Reports 1952, pp. 176, at pp. 200, 209. Akehurst (1977), p. 6.
- 53.
Brownlie lists material sources of custom—though without classifying them as either practice or opinio iuris. Brownlie (2008), p. 6. Resolutions as opinio iuris: Roberts (2001); D’Amato (1971), p. 49. Bruno Simma and Andreas Paulus have—while defending legal positivism—recognized that state practice and opinio iuris cannot always be clearly distinguished at the international level. See Simma and Paulus (2004), p. 30.
- 54.
For a critical approach towards consent see Guzman (2012).
- 55.
Menon (1989), p. 121.
- 56.
- 57.
Paras. 73–74 International Court of Justice (1969) North Sea Continental Shelf Judgement North Sea Continental Shelf Cases (Federal Republic of Germany/Denmark; Federal Republic of Germany/Netherlands), 20 February 1969: I.C.J. Reports 1969, p. 3.
- 58.
For more on the time aspect see Kadens and Young (2013), pp. 889–893.
- 59.
- 60.
Menon (1989), p. 120. The ICJ has held that ‘the passage of only a short period of time is not necessarily, or of itself, a bar to the formation of a new rule of customary international law.’ See para 74 International Court of Justice (1969) North Sea Continental Shelf Judgement North Sea Continental Shelf Cases (Federal Republic of Germany/Denmark; Federal Republic of Germany/Netherlands), 20 February 1969: I.C.J. Reports 1969, p. 3.
- 61.
Charney (1985), p. 1.
- 62.
Charney (1985), p. 22.
- 63.
Original italics, Akehurst (1977), p. 15.
- 64.
- 65.
Para. 62 International Court of Justice (1969) North Sea Continental Shelf Judgement North Sea Continental Shelf Cases (Federal Republic of Germany/Denmark; Federal Republic of Germany/Netherlands), 20 February 1969: I.C.J. Reports 1969, p. 3.
- 66.
Para. 188 International Court of Justice (1986) Nicaragua Case Judgement on the Merits Case Concerning Military and Paramilitary Activities in and Against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America), 27 June 1986: I.C.J. Reports 1986, p. 14.
- 67.
- 68.
Roberts (2001), pp. 759–760.
- 69.
- 70.
Fidler (1996), pp. 220–224. For more on the different approaches to custom see pp. 216–220.
- 71.
Sohn (1995), p. 406. In his article he points at the establishment of the ICTY, the adoption of GA resolutions without vote, adopting by consensus without all actually agreeing.
- 72.
Roberts (2001), p. 758.
- 73.
- 74.
Pomerance (1982), pp. 65–66. Pomerance also presents the look that consensus is often a mere procedural device by which ‘an unpleasant and perhaps useless discussion’ is brought to an end. Also at p. 66.
- 75.
For example the model of the sliding scale is widely rejected. See Simma and Alston (1988–1989), pp. 88 and 96.
- 76.
- 77.
There is a debate if judicial decisions of other tribunals or other bodies are covered by art. 38 (1) c. Arbitral tribunals for example are not established by multilateral treaties and are not permanent; however, they apply legal rules. Regarding national courts, positivists argue against the inclusion of national decision into international law, though some scholars concede that decisions of national courts can contribute to the development of customary international law. Others see decisions of national courts as state consent of a certain practice. See Menon (1989), p. 129.
- 78.
For more on judicial decisions see van Hoof (1983), pp. 169–176.
- 79.
- 80.
On this last point, there was already at the time of writing agreement across ideological boundaries. See Tunkin (1978), p. 103.
- 81.
Menon (1989), p. 125.
- 82.
- 83.
Pacta sunt servanda is a general principle of law, a rule under customary international law and international treaty law (art. 26 VCLT).
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Barten, U. (2015). Classic Sources on Minority Rights and Self-Determination. In: Minorities, Minority Rights and Internal Self-Determination. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08876-1_3
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