Территориальная целостность и сецессия: конституционно-правовое исследование [Articol]

Abstract

Secession is a historical phenomenon. This means that basically since the beginning of modernity, when states were formed and built, there have been political movements that have aimed to achieve secession from the political organization of which they are a part. It is therefore appropriate to use a broad concept, covering situations ranging from the first segregations in the old colonial powers in the 18th and 19th centuries to the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia at the end of the 20th decade. When states were attempted to be established based on former political formations, as in Germany or in Austria and Italy, self-determination was the result of an adaptation of the Kantian thesis of individual autonomy to a national or collective fact. In Europe, irredentism has always been associated with the principle of nationalities. In many cases, it is a random connection, because as we know, a nation is a human creation. But let’s leave that aside. It is important to note that today’s separatist demands may have ethnic or cultural overtones, but they are usually associated with the need to protect other interests, often of an economic nature. That is why it is so difficult, by traditional standards, to draw a common line between the situations in Scotland and Catalonia or the Faroe Islands and Greenland. In many respects because in the center of institutionalized Europe, after seeing how the principle of nationalities influenced two world wars, a reasonable and satisfactory system of protection of national minorities was created. Territorial integrity has been central to peace and progress in Europe since the 1950s, and normative documents drawn up by the Council of Europe, the OSCE and the European Union itself Materialele conferinţei științifice naționale cu participare internaţională 221 have established normative guidelines of varying intensity to ensure adequate treatment of national minorities in domestic constitutional systems. This led to constitutionally guaranteed decisions on regional and federal autonomy, which made it possible to ensure the effective protection and development of national minorities in European nation-states. Currently, many of the problems associated with secession as a manifestation of separatism have not been resolved. There are still heated debates in the international community and at the level of the constitutional courts of different countries regarding the legality and optimal mechanisms of secession, as well as regarding compliance with the principle of the territorial integrity of states, which is the reason for the relevance of the paper. The article analyzes the constitutional and legal content of the principle of territorial integrity, the mechanisms for determining the political status of sub-national territories, secession, and related procedures in the constitutions of different countries, especially referenda. Successful and unsuccessful practical secession attempts are examined.