Diplomatic recognition

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Diplomatically recognize
)
"State recognition" redirects here. For state-recognized Native American tribes, see State-recognized tribes in the United States.
Allegory of the recognition of the Empire of Brazil and its independence. The painting depicts British diplomat Sir Charles Stuart presenting his letter of credence to Emperor Pedro I of Brazil, who is flanked by his wife Maria Leopoldina, their daughter Maria da Glória (later Queen Maria II of Portugal), and other dignitaries. At right, a winged figure, representing History, carving the "great event" on a stone tablet.[1]

Diplomatic recognition in

unilateral declarative political act of a state that acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state (may be also a recognized state). Recognition can be accorded either on a de facto or de jure basis. Partial recognition can occur if many sovereign states refuse to recognize an entity as a peer. Recognition can be a declaration to that effect by the recognizing government or may be implied from an act of recognition, such as entering into a treaty with the other state or making a state visit. Recognition may, but need not, have domestic and international legal consequences. If sufficient countries recognise a particular entity as a state, that state may have a right to membership in international organizations
, while treaties may require all existing member countries unanimously agreeing to the admission of a new member.

A vote by a country in the United Nations in favour of the membership of another country is an implicit recognition of that country by the country so voting, as only states may be members of the UN. On the other hand, a negative vote for UN membership does not necessarily mean non-recognition of the applicant as a state, as other criteria, requirements or special circumstances may be considered relevant for UN membership. Similarly, a country may choose not to apply for UN membership for its own reasons, as is the case with Vatican City, and Switzerland was not a member until 2002 because of its concerns to maintain its neutrality policy.

The non-recognition of particular acts of a state does not normally affect the recognition of the state itself. For example, the international rejection of the occupation of particular territory by a recognised state does not imply non-recognition of the state itself, nor a rejection of a change of government by illegal means.

Recognition of states and governments

Diplomatic recognition must be distinguished from formal recognition of states or their governments.[2] The fact that states do not maintain bilateral diplomatic relations does not mean that they do not recognize or treat one another as states. A state is not required to accord formal bilateral recognition to any other state, and some have a general policy of not doing so, considering that a vote for its membership of an international organisation restricted to states, such as the United Nations, is an act of recognition.

History

Some consider that a state has a responsibility not to recognize as a state any entity that has attained the qualifications for statehood by a violation of basic principles of the

International Court of Justice advisory opinion on Kosovo's declaration of independence, the ICJ ruled that "general international law contains no applicable prohibition of declarations of independence."[3] The Court carefully noted "that in all of those instances the Security Council was making a determination as regards the concrete situation existing at the time that those declarations of independence were made; the illegality attached to the declarations of independence thus stemmed not from the unilateral character of these declarations as such, but from the fact that they were, or would have been, connected with the unlawful use of force or other egregious violations of norms of general international law, in particular, those of a peremptory character (jus cogens). In the context of Kosovo, the Security Council has never taken this position. The exceptional character of the resolutions enumerated above appears to the Court to confirm that no general prohibition against unilateral declarations of independence may be inferred from the practice of the Security Council."[4]

States can exercise their recognition powers either explicitly or implicitly.[5] The recognition of a government implies recognition of the state it governs, but even countries which have a policy of formally recognising states may not have a policy of doing the same regarding governments.

  Recognition of both Israel and Palestine
  Recognition of Israel only
  Recognition of Israel, with some relations to Palestine
  Recognition of Palestine only
  Recognition of Palestine, with some relations to Israel

De facto recognition of states, rather than de jure, is rare. De jure recognition is stronger, while de facto recognition is more tentative and recognizes only that a government exercises control over a territory. An example of the difference is when the

People's Republic of China
in 1971.

Renewing recognition of a government is not necessary when it changes in a normal, constitutional way (such as an

Republic of Turkey
.

Recognition can be implied by other acts, such as a visit of the head of state, or the signing of a bilateral treaty. If implicit recognition is possible, a state may feel the need to explicitly proclaim that its acts do not constitute diplomatic recognition, like when the United States commenced its dialogue with the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1988.

Formal diplomatic recognition can be used as a tool of political influence with examples including

national minorities rights.[6]

Withdrawal of recognition

A state may withdraw diplomatic recognition of another state or simply refuse to deal with that other country, after withdrawing from all diplomatic relations with that country, such as embassies and consulates, and requiring the other country to do the same. The state will appoint a protecting power to represent its interests in the other state.

The doctrine of non-recognition of illegal or immoral situations, like territorial gains achieved by

diplomatic relations
.

Recognition of governments

Besides recognizing other states, states also can recognize the governments of states. This can be problematic particularly when a new government comes to power by illegal means, such as a coup d'état, or when an existing government stays in power by fixing an election. States once formally recognized both the government of a state and the state itself, but many no longer follow that practice,[7] even though, if diplomatic relations are to be maintained, it is necessary that there be a government with which to engage in diplomatic relations.[8] Countries such as the United States answer queries over the recognition of governments with the statement: "The question of recognition does not arise: we are conducting our relations with the new government."[9]

Unrecognized state

Main article: Unrecognized states

Several of the world's

sovereign states
. The degree of de facto control these entities exert over the territories they claim varies.

Most are subnational

self-governing protectorates
that enjoy military protection and informal diplomatic representation abroad through another state to prevent forced reincorporation into their original states.

The word "control" in this list refers to control over the area occupied, not occupation of the area claimed. Unrecognized countries may have either full control over their occupied territory (such as Northern Cyprus), or only partial control (such as Western Sahara). In the former, the de jure governments have little or no influence in the areas they claim to rule, whereas in the latter they have varying degrees of control, and may provide essential services to people living in the areas.

Other types of recognition

Further information: Belligerency

Other elements that may be recognized include occupation or annexation of territory, or belligerent rights of a party in a conflict. Recognition of the latter does not imply recognition of a state.

Formal recognition of

international personality to support the position of such rights and duties."[10] Extension of the rights of belligerency is usually done by other states, rather than by the government fighting the rebel group.[10] (A 1907 report by William E. Fuller for the Spanish Treaty Claims Commission noted that "A parent state never formally recognizes the insurgents as belligerents, although it may in fact treat them as such by carrying on war against them in accordance with the rules and usages of international warfare."[11]
)

Examples of recognition of belligerent status include:

See also

References

  1. ISBN 85-7164-837-9
    .
  2. ^ See Stefan Talmon, Recognition of Governments in International Law: With Particular Reference to Governments in Exile (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998) pages 1–4
  3. ^ Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in Respect of Kosovo, Advisory Opinion Archived 2010-08-21 at the Wayback Machine, I.C.J. Reports 2010, p. 403, para. 84.
  4. ^ ICJ Advisory Opinion of 22 July 2010, para. 81.
  5. ISBN 0-314-30138-0
    , § 202 (Recognition or Acceptance of States), § 203 (Recognition or Acceptance of Governments); and § 204 (Recognition and Maintaining Diplomatic Relations).
  6. doi:10.1111/1469-8219.00044
    .
  7. ^ See for example, the oral arguments in the International Court of Justice case on Kosovo's declaration of independence. CR 2009/32, page 39 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2009-12-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ Since the 1970s the United States Department of State has moved away from the practice of recognizing governments. See: [1977] Digest of U.S. Practice in International Law 19–21.
  9. ^ [1974] Digest of U.S. Practice in International Law at 13; [1975] Digest of U.S. Practice in International Law at 34.
  10. ^ a b Gary D. Solis, The Law of Armed Conflict: International Humanitarian Law in War (2d ed.: Cambridge University Press, 2016), p. 163.
  11. Government Printing Office
    , 1907), p. 262.
  12. ^ Roscoe Ralph Oglesby, Internal War and the Search for Normative Order (Martinus Nijhoff, 1971), p. 21.
  13. ^
    U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
    .
  14. ^ Burrus M. Carnahan, Act of Justice: Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the Law of War (University Press of Kentucky 2007), p. 50.
  15. ^ a b Gerhard von Glahn & James Larry Taulbee, Law Among Nations: An Introduction to Public International Law, 11th ed. (Taylor & Francis, 2017), p. 167.
  16. ^ Robert Kagan, A Twilight Struggle: American Power and Nicaragua, 1977–1990 (The Free Press, 1996), p. 93.
  17. ^ Sewall H. Menzel, Bullets Vs. Ballots: Political Violence and Revolutionary War in El Salvador, 1979–1991 (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1994), p. 22.
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