JOURNAL ARTICLE
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Catalonia and the Law of Statehood
German Yearbook of International Law, Vol. 63 (2020), Iss. 1 : pp. 277–304
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Jure Vidmar, Professor of Public International Law, Maastricht University, the Netherlands. Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague.
Abstract
In 2017, a group of Catalonia’s politicians issued a declaration of independence. This article considers the international legal framework applicable to Catalonia’s secession claim and assesses the legal consequences of the declaration of independence. This article demonstrates that the declaration of independence does not have any legal effects and has remained a political declaration under domestic and international law. For Catalonia, this means that precisely nothing has changed in law. Catalonia continues to be an integral part of Spain. While Spain is under no legal obligation to accept Catalonia’s independence, its counter-secession policy does not operate in a legal vacuum. In this regard, it is also highly significant that the declaration of independence was merely a political act. It is questionable whether certain limitations imposed by Spain on the freedom of expression are justified in these factual circumstances. While Catalonia does not have a right to independence, Spain will not be able to ignore the independence claim. It is inevitable that the two sides will need to negotiate to resolve the political crisis. But the outcome of such negotiations would not necessarily be an independent Catalonia.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jure Vidmar\nCatalonia and the Law of Statehood | 277 | ||
| I. Introduction | 277 | ||
| II. The Legal Context: International Law on Independence Claims | 279 | ||
| A. Territorial Legal Status | 280 | ||
| B. Self-Determination Versus Claims to Territorial Integrity | 281 | ||
| C. Territorial Integrity of States | 284 | ||
| D. The Modes of Overcoming a Counter-Claim to Territorial Integrity | 277 | ||
| E. When Are Declarations of Independence Illegal Under International Law? | 277 | ||
| F. The Independence Referendums | 277 | ||
| G. Summary on the Law of Statehood | 277 | ||
| III. The Legal Consequences of Catalonia’s Declaration of Independence | 278 | ||
| A. The Political Nature of Declarations of Independence | 278 | ||
| B. The Declaration of Independence and Spain’s Counter-Secession Policy | 278 | ||
| IV. Catalonia and EU Membership | 278 | ||
| V. Conclusion | 278 |