Peoples’ Right to Self-Determination: From a Political Ideal to an Ever-Evolving Legal Right

Abstract

The “principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples” is one of the foundational purposes of the United Nations Charter, codified in Article 1 therein. Notwithstanding its political and legal affirmation by the international community as a whole, self-determination remains a vexed legal construct. This paper offers a historical overview of the evolution of self-determination from a political ideal to a legal principle and to a legal right. It argues that the most constructive understanding of the concept is one that acknowledges its composite nature as both a principle and a right, and it seeks to ascertain which categories of peoples are recognized as having the right to self-determination, whether internal or external, under international law, following a wide range of international legal instruments from the UN General Assembly Decisions to the ICJ Advisory Opinions. Using the case of Kosovo as an illustration of this dynamic, it presents a historical and analytical framework that might assist in (re)conceptualising and critically assessing more recent and future claims for self-determination.

Keywords

• Self-determination
• Human rights
• Internal self-determination
• External self-determination
• Nationalism
• Democratic governance
• Kosovo

Halkların Kendi Kaderini Tayin Hakkı: Politik Bir İdealden Sürekli Gelişen Hukukî Bir Hakka

Abstract

“Eşit haklar ve halkların kendi kaderini tayin (self-determinasyon) ilkesi” Birleşmiş Milletler Şartı’nın kurucu amaçlarından biri olarak 1. maddesinde düzenlenmiştir. Uluslararası toplumun tamamı tarafından politik ve hukukî olarak onaylanmasına karşın, self-determinasyon tartışmalı bir hukukî yapı olarak varlığını sürdürmektedir. Bu çalışma self-determinasyon kavramının politik bir idealden hukukî bir ilkeye ve oradan da hukukî bir hakka evrilişini tarihsel süreç içerisinde sunmaktadır. Kavramın en doğru ele alınışının onun hem bir ilke hem bir hak olarak dinamik ve birleşik bir doğası olduğunu kabul etmekten geçtiğini savunmakta ve BM Genel Kurul Kararlarından UAD Danışma Görüşlerine uzanan geniş bir kapsamda uluslararası hukuk enstrümanlarını takip ederek uluslararası hukukta hangi halk kategorilerinin içsel veya dışsal anlamda self-determinasyon hakkına sahip olduğunu saptamayı amaçlamaktadır. Kosova’nın bağımsızlığı sorununun bu dinamiğin bir örneği olarak kullanıldığı çalışma, self-determinasyon ilkesi ve hakkının ele alınması ve eleştirel değerlendirmeye tabi tutulmasına yardımcı olmak için tarihsel ve analitik bir çerçeve sunmaktadır.

Keywords

• Self-determinasyon
• İnsan hakları
• İçsel self-determinasyon
• Dışsal self-determinasyon
• Milliyetçilik
• Demokratik yönetim
• Kosova

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