THE CONCEPT OF STATE RECOGNITION UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The term ―recognition implies a process whereby a person or an entity admits to the existence or the being of another person, entity or state of affairs. The Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary defines the concept as a sign, token or indication of acknowledgment of a thing or a state of being in relation to nation state.
State recognition is one of the oldest practice in international relations, and one of the most vexed concepts in international law since the middle ages, political communities have interacted with each other as sovereign, territorial states under an accepted system of rules. Determining which entity is to be recognized as state subject to these rules has hence been a basic component of international relations. As such, it is one of the most common discussed topics in the international law literatures.2
Recognition of statehood grants an entity international legal personality and binds it to comfort it according to the rules established by international law in its relations with other states and peoples. At the same time, it makes the entity eligible to enter into treaties and alliances with other states as well as to participate in the development and enforcement of international law. Most importantly recognition is an affirmation of an entity‘s right to territorial sovereignty and integrity and its right to exercise coercive jurisdiction within this territory.
The right and powers attached to statehood make it desirable for a political entities to attain such a status, at the same time the expectation that each new state will abide by the rule of international law makes it desirable to include as many qualified political entities as possible in so far as this will further the goals of peace and stability.
While in conformity with the above the Monte Video Convention of 1933 made a preliminary attempt to codify specific descriptive criteria for statehood thus:
(1) Permanent Population
(2) Define territory
(3) Functional government able to control the territory
(4) Capacity to enter into relation with other state voluntarily
Together these four requirements defined a state and presumably any entity aspiring independent statehood that met these criteria would automatically be regarded as a state under international law.
However and unfortunately the present practice of recognition is not in conformity with the above criteria. According to the present recognition an entity is considered a state to the extent that other state recognized it as such, since new state cannot exercise right and obligation against state that do not recognize it. For example taking into consideration the case of Palestine, applying the Montevideo criteria for statehood, it becomes clear that Palestine should be considered a state and also be recognized, as it has a permanent population, concentrated in a defined territory, a functional representative authority (P.A), and has already entered into various agreements with other sovereign entities. However, as was already noted, its statehood bid is bound to be frustrated unless Israel and USA choose to alter their policy of non-recognition. Regardless of whether or not the U.S and Israel are right in denying recognition it is clear that recognition in this case is a matter of policy discretion from part of the states on both sides of the controversy. As this example shows recognition is often an opportunity for powerful states to express their approval or disapproval of a political entity, and hence recognition end up bringing a high selective and strategic policy decision.
Moreover, recognition does not tend to a single form. There is need to establish a generally acceptable form of recognition. Blix states, ―Recognition being an institute that has existed for a long time, it may not be unreasonable to assume that it has some political function in international relations or several that is not merely an empty fetish.
This function should also tell sometimes about the way the institutions operate‖
