Legal Literacy - This article explains the definition and a brief explanation of recognition of a new state in international law. Recognition of a new state is an important factor for a country to establish international relations with other countries, both diplomatic relations and international trade relations and other types of relations.
Definition of Recognition of a New State
Recognition (Recognition) is a free act granted by a sovereign state to another state to acknowledge that the state has been accepted as part of the international community to the existence of a certain territory inhabited by a community with an organized government, territory, and people so that it is deemed capable of exercising rights and obligations and capable of conducting international relations based on the provisions of international law.
Moore in Setyo Widagdo (2008), an American International law expert, argues that recognition is useful to ensure that a new State can occupy its proper place as an independent sovereign political organism in the midst of the family of nations which can lead to various relations with other countries safely and perfectly, without worrying that its position as a political unity will be disturbed by existing countries.
Legal Consequences of Recognition of a New State
According to J.G. Starke, recognition will grant a state or government a status recognized under national and International law. A sovereign state or government that has been recognized will have legal consequences, including:
1. Has the right to litigate in the courts of the recognizing state
2. The Court's considerations from the recognizing State will be influenced by the actions of the legislative and executive bodies that will be formed by the new government concerned.
3. To possess the right of immunity in cases concerning property and its diplomatic representatives.
4. To have the right to claim and receive property located within the jurisdiction of the recognizing state, owned before or after the state's collapse.
In addition to having legal consequences, recognition granted to a state or government will provide benefits. Among other things: obtaining the right to file claims in the courts of the recognizing state, being able to claim immunity for both its wealth and its diplomatic representatives, and having the right to obtain and sell wealth that is rightfully its, previously controlled by the former government.
The Montevideo Declaration and Requirements for Recognition of a New State
The 1933 Montevideo Declaration on the Rights and Duties of States stipulates the conditions for a state to be recognized as existing by another state, namely, having a territory, having a population residing in that territory, and having a sovereign government, and also, of course, having the capacity to exercise international rights and obligations in international relations. This is also the constitutive theory that a state or government is considered born if it has been recognized by another state.
A new state, even if independent by referendum, when it meets the requirements of territory, a population residing in that territory, a sovereign government, and the ability to conduct relations with other countries, can actually be legitimately said to be a new state because it has met the qualifications for the establishment of a state (Bayu Sujadmiko, 2012).
This is based on the declarative theory that a new state, in order to be said to have international personality or as a new state, does not require relations with other countries. However, as a subject, international lawa new state requires recognition from other countries because with that recognition, the new state will create a relationship of rights and obligations with other countries. This is called the middle ground between the constitutive and declarative theories. In reality, a state needs cooperation with other countries, therefore recognition of a new state by other countries becomes very important, in order to gain recognition of its existence politically and be free to conduct relations in international relations.
References
Setyo Widagdo. 2008. Problems of Public International Law. Malang: Bayu Media Publishing.
J.G. Starke. 2004. Introduction to International Law. Jakarta: Sinar Grafika.
Bayu Sujadmiko, 2012, Recognition of New States Viewed From the Perspective of International Law (Study of Kosovo's Independence), Fiat Justitia Journal of Law Volume 6 No. 1
*This article represents the opinion personal opinion of the author and does not represent the views of the editors Legal Literacy of Indonesia.
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