Research Handbook on Territorial Disputes in International Law

by Marcelo G. Kohen (Editor), Mamadou Hébié (Editor)

Overview

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.

Contributors include: M.J. Aznar, T. Christakis, A. Constantinides, K. Del Mar, G. Distefano, M. Hébié, P. Klein, M. Kohen, V. Koutroulis, S. Lee, G. Nesi, K. Parlett

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781782546863
Publisher:	Edward Elgar Publishing
Publication date:	10/24/2018
Series:	Research Handbooks in International Law series
Pages:	520
Product dimensions:	6.62(w) x 9.62(h) x (d)

About the Author

Edited by Marcelo G. Kohen, Professor of International Law and Mamadou Hébié, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID), Switzerland

Table of Contents

Contents:

Introduction to the Research Handbook on Territorial Disputes in International Law
Marcelo G. Kohen and Mamadou Hébié

1. Territorial conflicts and their international legal framework
Marcelo G. Kohen and Mamadou Hébié

Part I The establishment of title of sovereignty over a territory
2. The acquisition of original titles of territorial sovereignty in the law and practice of European colonial expansion
Mamadou Hébié

3. The acquisition of derivative titles of territorial sovereignty in the law and practice of European colonial expansion
Mamadou Hébié

4. Titles and Effectivités in Territorial Disputes
Marcelo G. Kohen

5. State conduct in territorial disputes beyond effectivités: Recognition, acquiescence, renunciation and estoppel
Kate Parlett

6. Boundaries
Giuseppe Nesi

Part II The impact of fundamental principles of international law
7. Territorial disputes and the use of force
Pierre Klein and Vaios Koutroulis

8. Territorial settlements in peace treaties
Seokwoo Lee

9. The human factor in territorial disputes
Mariano J. Aznar

10. Territorial disputes in the context of secessionist conflicts
Theodore Christakis and Aristoteles Constantinides

Part III Technical rules in territorial disputes settlement
11. Time factor and territorial disputes
Giovanni Distefano

12. Evidence in territorial disputes
Katherine Del Mar

Conclusion
Marcelo G. Kohen and Mamadou Hébié

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

‘The Research Handbook on Territorial Disputes in International Law certainly has conquered its place among the fundamental literature on the law of territory.’

Michael J Moffatt

'Territorial disputes were to be found at the origins of international law, as well as present in a number of current affairs. State sovereignty, the delimitation of territories according to all pertinent circumstances, the authority of legal titles, and the respect not only for the consent of the interested States but also for the rights of people and human rights, count among the fundamental principles governing the matter, which remains thereby still at the core of modern international law. All the applicable rules are studied and systematically analyzed in this remarkable and comprehensive book of which the plurality of the authors does not impair the profound consistency.'
—Pierre-Marie Dupuy, Professor of International Law, Graduate Institute, Switzerland and International Arbitrator

From the Publisher

‘Territorial disputes, which were to be found at the origins of international law, are still present in a number of current international affairs. State sovereignty, the delimitation of territories according to all pertinent circumstances, the authority of legal titles, as well as the respect, not only of the consent of the interested States, but also of the right of peoples and human rights count among the fundamental principles governing the matter, which still remains at the core of modern international law. All the applicable rules in the field are studied and systematically analysed in this remarkable and comprehensive book in which the plurality of authors does not impair the profound consistency between the chapters.’

Pierre-Marie Dupuy