Succession of New States to Membership in International Organizations: A Theoretical Assessment

Year 2024, Issue: 59, 181 - 204, 12.07.2024

Oğuz Kaan Pehlivan

https://doi.org/10.54049/taad.1515029

Abstract

The law of succession, a complex and evolving area of international law, deals with the succession and change of responsibilities of states in international relations. 1978 Vienna Convention on Succession of States in Respect of Treaties, which entered into force on November 6, 1996, sets the basic framework in this area. The concept of succession can be defined as the replacement of one state by another or the transfer of rights and obligations from one state to another. However, the complexity behind this definition arises from the interaction and conflict of different principles and rules of international law. While the succession of states is discussed in the literature within the framework of succession to bilateral and multilateral treaties, property, archives and debts of the predecessor state, the issue of succession to international organizations emerges as one of these areas of conflict. As such, it is controversial how to choose between the rules of succession to treaties, especially multilateral treaties, and the provisions in the constituent documents/constitutions of international organizations.
In this article, the basic principles of the concept of succession will be discussed in the context of membership in international organizations and the basic approaches in this field, the practices of states and international organizations and the work of the International Law Commission will be examined. The article proposes a modus operandi for understanding the complexity of succession law and aims to provide a basis for shedding light on the debate in this area.

Keywords

Theory of tabula rasa, continuity continuing state, successor state, succession of states in respect of treaties, succession to membership of international organizations

Ethical Statement

This article is not subject to Ethics Committee permission.

YENİ DEVLETLERİN ULUSLARARASI ÖRGÜT ÜYELİĞİNE HALEFİYETİ: TEORİK BİR DEĞERLENDİRME

Abstract

Uluslararası hukukun karmaşık ve gelişmekte olan alanlarından biri olan halefiyet hukuku, devletlerin uluslararası ilişkilerdeki sorumluluklarının birbirine geçmesini ve değişmesini konu edinir. 6 Kasım 1996’da yürürlüğe giren 1978 tarihli Antlaşmalarda Halefiyete İlişkin Viyana Sözleşmesi, bu alandaki temel çerçeveyi belirlemektedir. Halefiyet kavramı, bir devletin yerini başka bir devletin alması veya devletin hak ve yükümlülüklerinin bir devletten diğerine geçmesi olarak tanımlanabilir. Ancak, bu tanımın ardında yatan karmaşıklık, uluslararası hukukun farklı ilke ve kurallarının etkileşimi ve çatışmasıyla ortaya çıkmaktadır. Zira literatürde, devletlerin halefiyeti, selef devletin akdettiği ikili ve çok taraflı antlaşmalar, malları, arşivleri ve borçlarına halefiyet çerçevesinde tartışılırken uluslararası örgütlere halefiyet konusu bu çatışma alanlarından birisi olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Böyle ki uluslararası örgütlere halefiyet konusunda, antlaşmalara özellikle çok taraflı antlaşmalara halefiyet kuralları ile örgütlerin kurucu belgeleri/anayasalarında yer alan hükümler arasında nasıl bir tercih yapılacağı tartışmalıdır.
Bu makalede, halefiyet kavramının temel prensipleri, uluslararası örgütlere üyelik bağlamında ele alınacak ve bu alandaki temel yaklaşımlar ile devletlerin ve uluslararası örgütlerin uygulamaları ile Uluslararası Hukuk Komisyonu’nun çalışmaları incelenecektir. Bu makale, halefiyet hukukunun karmaşıklığını anlamak üzere bir modus operandi önermekte ve bu alandaki tartışmalara ışık tutmak için bir temel oluşturmayı amaçlamaktadır.

Keywords

Tabula Rasa teorisi, Devamlılık teorisi, devam eden devlet, halef devlet Halefiyet teorisi, Devletlerin antlaşmalara halefiyet, uluslararası örgüt üyeliğine halefiyet

Ethical Statement

Bu makale Etik Kurul iznine tabi değildir.

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