The status of unrecognized states in public international law

Laytman V. I.

The article deals with the nature and concept of unrecognized states, the problems of their recognition and international legal status. The relevance of the chosen topic is due to the fact that at present, despite the already established international institutions for identifying various state entities and transferring them to the status of independent states, there is still no common (single) format for assessing and developing signs of these subjects of international relations in the world. As a result, the points of view declared by scientists regarding the definition of the legal status and features of these entities differ, and do not have a generally accepted beginning. The purpose of the study is to analyze the positions of researchers on this issue, and through comparative and structural analysis, to identify common points of contact on this issue. The author considers the main task of the study to be the identification of the main principles that make it possible to establish the possibility of certain entities to obtain the status of an independent state in the modern format of international coexistence. The conclusion of the study is that the positions of scientists given in the article are ambiguous and do not yet have substantive reflection in modern international law. Some of the theses are declarative in nature and do not contain any qualitative assessment of the institution of recognition in international law. It seems that the resolution of these problems would be facilitated by the adoption of a universal international legal act regulating the process of international legal recognition.

Keywords:unrecognized states, subject of international law, international legal personality, institution of state recognition, constitutive and declarative theories of recognition, recognition criteria, legal status.