Self-determination and secession in constitutional democracies. A study of the Spanish case.

Abstract

As noted throughout the whole research, secession has had a great historical importance and remains a major issue in the national and international political arena today. The protection of the territorial integrity has been a conflictive issue that continues to generate new armed conflicts. Secession and territorial disputes have historically been solved by force. In fact, in many recent examples force has been used to achieve independence or to preserve the territorial integrity of a state. The example of Ukraine-Russia war clearly prove that separatist claims and the protection of territorial integrity can lead to armed conflict. Finding a legal solution to secession is still an open question and a particularly difficult task, which this research aims to shed some light on though. Thus, secession would no longer be a de facto issue solved by force and become an issue solved by law. The first part of this research studies the legal channels for a separatist claim by distinguishing two types of secession: the remedial secession and the so-called “democratic secession”, being each type of secession achieved exercising different rights. . Remedial-secession takes place through the exercise of the external dimension of the right to self-determination recognised by international law. This secession is based either on a massive violation of human rights or on an infringement of the internal self-determination. On the other hand, democratic secession takes place by the exercise of a right to secede recognised in a Constitution. This secession is not based on any infringement of rights or restrictions on the self-governing or representation powers, but simply on the will of a collective to become independent.