Concerning Certain Positions on the Ukrainian Issue in International Law

Abstract

The author discusses the legal norms that justify Russian actions to annex Crimea after the region's March 2014 independence referendum. He finds that Russia acted according to the norms of international law, particularly as they apply after the Kosovo precedent. He then discusses the legal aspects of the overall succession crisis in Ukraine, highlighting the lack of legal justification for the removal of President Yanukovych. He concludes by discussing potential actions that Russia could take in response to the crisis in Ukraine.

Keywords::

• Ukrainian issue
• referendum in Crimea
• Russophobic rhetoric
• negotiations in Geneva

Notes

English translation © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, from the Russian text, “O nekotorykh mezhdunarodno-pravovykh pozitsiiakh po ukrainskomu voprosu,” Mezhdunarodnaia zhizn’, 2014, no. 5, pp. 53–65.Notes have been renumbered for this edition.—Ed.Alexei Moiseev is dean of the Faculty of International Law at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a Doctor of Legal Sciences.Translated by Stephen D. Shenfield.

^* The Russian narody can be rendered either as “peoples” or as “nations”; unless the foreign loan word natsii is used, the distinction that exists between these two words in English is lost in Russian. One result is that “the right of nations to self-determination” acquires a broader interpretation in Russian than in English.—Trans.

^1. Federal Constitutional Law of the Russian Federation No. 6-FKZ of December 17, 2001, “On the Rules for Admission into the Russian Federation and the Formation Within It of a New Subject of the Russian Federation.”

^2. Transcript of Session No. 7124 of the UN Security Council on March 1, 2014. UNO Document S/PV.7124 (http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N14/250/32/PDF/N1425032.pdf?OpenElement).

^3. Agreement Between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on Issues Pertaining to the Presence of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation on the Territory of Ukraine (April 21, 2010), including the Agreement Between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on the Status of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation and Conditions of Its Presence on the Territory of Ukraine (May 28, 1997); Agreements Between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on Parameters for the Division of the Black Sea Fleet (May 28, 1997) and Agreements Between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the Russian Federation on Settlements Connected with the Division of the Black Sea Fleet and the Presence of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation on the Territory of Ukraine (May 28, 1997).

^4. Resolution of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation No. 48-SF of March 1, 2014, “On Use of the Armed Forces of the RF on the Territory of Ukraine.”

^5. Letter of the President of the Russian Federation to the Federal Assembly on December 12. 2013.

^6. The basic principles of international law embodied in the UN Charter, the 1970 UN Declaration on Principles of International Law, and the 1975 Helsinki Final Act of the OSCE include principles such as: noninterference in states' internal affairs; the nonuse of force or the threat of force; the equal rights and self-determination of peoples; respect for state sovereignty and the sovereign equality of states; the conscientious fulfillment of international obligations; the inviolability of state borders; territorial integrity; cooperation; the peaceful settlement of disputes; and respect for human rights and basic freedoms.

^7. Article 11 of the Agreement Between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on the Status of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation and Conditions of its Presence on the Territory of Ukraine (May 28, 1997); Federal Law of the RF No. 38-FZ of April 2, 2014, “On the Annulment of Agreements Concerning the Presence of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation on the Territory of Ukraine.”