Director of International Lawyers: Kosovo may withdraw recognitions

State accession under International Law presents a political act and as such there is no stop to withdraw recognition, says Mark Ellis, executive director of the London-based International Lawyers Association.

His comments, followed statements by Serbia's diplomatic chief, Ivica Dacic, according to which the Republic of Suriname has withdrew the decision to recognise the state of Kosovo.

Kosovo institutions say they have not received any official information from Suriname, and point out that the practice of attracting recognition is not recognized at the International Law, but according to the Government of Kosovo, it can only exist in the establishment of reports between states.

In this regard, Mark Ellis has told Radio Free Europe that there are two main theories on International Law about the recognition of the states that the Constituents and deklarative theory.

According to constitutional theory, Ellis explains, recognition by other states is the criterion for citizenship itself.

“A state is only considered a state when it is recognised as such by a considerable number of other states. States have discretion on whether to recognise a new country. Moreover, only with recognition from other states does the new state exist, at least in the judicial sense”, he said.

But through declarative theory, he underlines, it is simply appreciated if the state meets the objective criteria for citizenship. According to this theory, recognition by other states (as it is in the constitutional theory) is insignificant to citizenship status.

It recalls Article number one of the Montevideo Convention, setting four criteria for citizenship, which are accepted by international organisations as an exact declaration of international customary law.

The state as part of International Law must possess these qualifications: permanent population, a territory defined by Government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states.

The “generally, based on declarative theory, recognition of a state, according to International Law, represents a political act, unlike legal one. Hence, there is no obligation on the International Law to recognise the state or state's right to recognise”, Elsey points out.

Similarly, he says, attracting recognition is a political act, and as such, there is no general ban or obligation about attracting recognition of any previously accepted state, such as the case with the Republic of Suriname.

Therefore, I think it is difficult for Kosovo to prove or prove that state recognition is permanently irrevocable”, Ellis says.

There is another argument on the issue of recognition, Ellis says, which relates to the Vienna treaty.

“In this scenario it is said that unilateral actions, such as recognition of citizenship, are not modified unless there is a significant change in the circumstances, such as deregulation of a state, such as the case with Yugoslavia. However, I am not a supporter of this” argument, Ellis says.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Kosovo has not yet received any official documents from the Republic of Suriname, if this country has drawn recognition of the Republic of Kosovo. Such an evental decision has not been confirmed so far by the Suriname Government, while the only one who has declared this “withdrawal of recognition” is the chief of Serbian diplomacy, Ivica Dacic.

Not only has it been linked to Suriname's case, United States Ambassador to Pristina Greg Delaway has called on states to recognise Kosovo.

“The United States' support for Kosovo is steadfast and unchanged. The fact of Kosovo's independence is irreversible”, Delawie has declared.

Suriname has recognised Kosovo's independence on June 8, 2016. This land is located in South America, with an area of 163,820 square miles [1,820 sq km] and over 550 thousand inhabitants.

Since Kosovo's February 17th 2008 declaration of independence, 114 states have recognised Kosovo.