Introduction to new IACL Blog series: Spotlight on the Venice Commission
Helle Krunke & Angelika Nußberger
President of the IACL & Chair of the IACL Commission on the Cooperation with the Venice Commission
The International Association of Constitutional Law (IACL) and the Venice Commission have a long-standing cooperation. They have a lot in common, especially the strong focus on democracy, rule of law, and human rights, within and beyond Europe. The IACL has observer status in the Venice Commission, and the Venice Commission has observer status in the Executive Commission of the IACL. While the Venice Commission focuses more on practical work, issuing opinions on constitutional amendments and new laws, the IACL brings together constitutionalists from all continents and contributes to a better understanding of the similarities and differences of legal systems worldwide; thus, their work is complementary and mutually inspiring.
That is why the IACL and the Venice Commission have already organized several conferences together. The next joint conference with the topic “Lessons Learned and Learning Lessons. The Venice Commission’s Experience in Elaborating Transnationally Valid Constitutional Standards” will be held in Venice on 12 March 2025.
In light of the valued cooperation between the IACL and the Venice Commission, the IACL Commission on the Cooperation between the IACL and the Venice Commission, will introduce a new IACL Blog series to discuss important opinions of the Venice Commission.
The very first blog post in the new series is on Opinion No. 1181/2024 on the draft law amending the law on the national council of the judiciary in Poland. It is written by Francesco Biagi and entitled “Constitutional Repair in Poland: The Venice Commission’s Opinion on the Draft Law Amending the Law on the National Council of the Judiciary”. We hope to contribute to the academic debates of the opinions of the Venice Commission, and to draw attention to the work of the Venice Commission within and outside Europe.
New Open-Access Book by Dr. Miklasová Explores Secession in International Law
In her new book Secession in International Law with a Special Reference to the Post-Soviet Space (Brill), our Postdoctoral Researcher, Dr. Júlia Miklasová, explores the increasing relevance of international law to cases of unilateral secession, particularly when connected to breaches of peremptory norms (jus cogens). It also emphasizes the critical role of post-Soviet secessionist practice within this legal context.
The book builds on Dr. Miklasová PhD thesis completed at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva (2021, summa cum laude avec les félicitations du jury). It was thoroughly updated to reflect recent developments and finalised at the Academy for European Human Rights Protection in Cologne. The book is now published as an open-access publication with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation, as part of Brill’s Theory and Practice of Public International Law series.
The book delves into the essential elements of contemporary international law concerning secession, covering topics such as the role of facts, the right to secede, referenda, declarations of independence, the principle of territorial integrity, and the relationship with consensual methods of State formation. Dr. Miklasová's central argument reinforces and expands upon the legalist position: if a secessionist entity gains effectiveness through violations of jus cogens norms, the creation of statehood is prohibited—legality takes precedence over effectiveness. Advancing this legal paradigm further, Dr. Miklasová introduces the concept of the "illegal secessionist entity" and demonstrates the pervasive effects of the original illegality on the entity's subsequent diplomatic, treaty, and economic relations, as well as its acts and laws. The book also examines the intersecting legal regimes of occupation law, human rights law, and the duty of non-recognition.
Drawing on an unprecedented analysis of practice involving Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Crimea, the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, and the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Regions, the book identifies a common thread relating to these entities: despite their on-the-ground effectiveness, their existence stems from illegal use of force. As a result, these entities are barred from achieving statehood, and their illegality produces further legal consequences. The book also delves into specific issues such as the territorial scope of treaties related to these entities (e.g., the applicability of the Russia-Ukraine BIT to annexed Crimea), the legality of trade with them, the international opposability of privatizations, and the validity of birth and marriage certificates, among other legal acts issued by these entities. The analysis of post-Soviet secessionist practice underscores long-term general trends in the modern legal understanding of secession, particularly highlighting the critical role of jus cogens norms and their effects.
Dr. Júlia Miklasová will launch her book at the Academy of European Human Rights Protection in Cologne in early 2025.
uni-koeln.de