Separatist De Facto States and Use of Force: The Case of Georgia

Abstract

The so-called de facto states represent a specific category of state-like entities fulfilling most of the normative criteria for statehood. Despite the factual exercise of public authority over permanent population on a defined territory, the de facto states remain deprived of state recognition by the international community. One of the common reasons for such ostracization is a serious breach of peremptory rules of the general international law in connection to their creation. Since the existence of such de facto entities is frequently reached as a result of an armed conflict, the non-compliance with the customary prohibition of the use of force serves as a fitting subject of study.

The article aims at answering the question of whether an unlawful use of force in the process of secession prevents a lawful creation of an independent state under international law. The normative analysis is illustrated by the example of Georgia, whose separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia are two emblematic archetypes of de facto states created with the support of a third (patron) state – the Russian Federation.