Territorial Modifications and Breakups in Federal States

Abstract

SummaryThis article considers the way in which territorial modifications and breakups in federal states are dealt with in domestic and in international law. It investigates whether federal states permit separatist claims of their minorities for “internal modifications” on the basis of constitutional Law, such as the formation of new member units or the merger of existing member units, and whether domestic law knows of any secessionist claims for “external modifications,” such as the formation of new sovereign states or the merger or association with existing states. The extensive practice surveyed by the author allows for a new outlook on the well-known problem of “self-determination.”