Frozen Conflicts in International Law

LICTS

IONAL LAW

Frozen Conflicts in International Law

Challenging Legal Categories in the Post-Soviet Space

Livia Enzler — Seite 2 —About the digital version of this book:

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Livia Enzler

Frozen Conflicts in International Law

Challenging Legal Categories in the Post-Soviet Space

Dedicated to my dearest parents, my siblings, and always to William.

Who can say, around the dawn, exactly where night ends and day begins?

Brian Orend,

Jus Post Bellum: The Perspective of a Just-War Theorist — Seite 7 —VII

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to express my profound gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Oliver Diggelmann, for his invaluable guidance, inspiring discussions, and unwavering support throughout this journey. His mentorship extended beyond the dissertation itself, shaping my academic and professional growth also during my time as his research assistant at the Chair for International Law at the University of Zurich. I am also very thankful to Professor Urs Saxer for his willingness to support me as a second supervisor.

I would like to thank those who particularly supported me in the context of my research stays abroad: Professor Matthias Oesch, Professor Christoph Beat Graber, Professor Andreas Kley, Professor Lauri Mälksoo, Professor Allen Weiner, Professor Surabhi Ranganathan, and Professor Sandesh Sivakumaran. Thanks to them I was able to complete research stays at Stanford University and at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law of the University of Cambridge. These experiences were not only crucial for the development of this thesis, but also deeply enriching on a personal level. I am grateful also for the generous research funding that I received from the University of Zurich (UZH Candoc Grant no. FK-23-010) and the financial support from the Swiss National Science Foundation (Grant no. 10BP-2_238910/1) for the open access book publication. A heartfelt thank you goes to Daniel Rüfli for his generous and attentive proofreading. I deeply appreciated his support and, moreover, our engaging discussions when working together at the Chair of International Law. I sincerely thank all friends and colleagues who have accompanied me since my first semester of studies or have later enriched my educational path through their companionship at the University. A very special thank you goes to my dear friend Anna Laura Elmer. Her constant support, thoughtful feedback, and tireless encouragement were indispensable. The regular exchange with her truly made the completion of this dissertation possible. Her precise and constructive comments at the final stage were especially invaluable. In her, I found not only a trusted colleague on this academic journey, but also a true friend.

I am deeply grateful to my parents for their unconditional support. The opportunities they have given me made it possible to enjoy such a rich and fulfilling education. Finally, I owe my heartfelt thanks to my fiancé, William. His presence, daily support, and openness to engaging with my work gave me strength and motivation throughout this entire process.

This dissertation was accepted by the Faculty of Law, University of Zurich, in April 2025. Literature and developments were taken into account until September 2024.

IX

Content Overview

Acknowledgements VII Content Overview IX

XI

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements VII Content Overview IX Table of Contents XI Bibliography XV

Legislation XV Table of Cases XVII Sources of International and Regional Organisations XIX Agreements and Memoranda XXIII

XV

Bibliography

Legislation

Charter of the Organisation of American States (adopted 30 April 1948, en-

Charter of the United Nations (adopted 26 Juni 1945, entered into force 24 Oc-

tober 1945) 1 UNTS XVI

Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

(7 October 1977), Marxist Internet Archive

Constitution of Georgia (adopted 24 August1995, entered into force 17 Octo-

ber 1995) Regional Research Center

Constitution of the Pridniestrovan Moldovan Republic (adopted by referen-

dum 24 December 1995, signed into law 17 January 1996, amended 30 June 2000), Ministry of foreign affairs of Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic

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approved by referendum and amended 3 October 1999), AbkhazWorld

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into force 11 December, amended 20 February 2017), WorldStatesmen

Constitution of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Abkhazia (1 April 1925), Abkhaz-

World

Constitution of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Georgia (adopted 13 February

Convention on Rights and Duties of States adopted by the Seventh Interna-

tional Conference of American States (Montevideo Convention) (adopted 26 December 1933, entered into force 26 December 1934) 165 LNTS 19

Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fun-

damental Freedoms (adopted 4 November 1950, entered into force 3 September 1953) 213 UNTS 221 — Seite 16 —XVI Bibliography

Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts,

with Commentaries (2001, UN Doc A56/10, Yearbook of the International Law Commission 2001, Vol II, Part Two)

Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and

Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick

and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea (Second Geneva Convention) (adopted 12 August 1949, entered into force 21 October 1950) 75 UNTS 85

Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (Third Ge-

neva Convention) (adopted 12 August 1949, entered into force 21 October 1950) 75 UNTS 135

Hague Convention (IV) concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land

and its Annex: Regulations Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land (adopted 18 October 1907, entered into force 26 October 1910) 205 CTS 277

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrim-

ination (adopted 7 March 1966, entered into force 4 January 1969) 660 UNTS 195

Konstitutsiya Yuzhnoy Osetii (Constitution of South Ossetia) (8 April 2001),

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Law on Occupied Territories of Georgia, 23 October 2008, Printed in: Euro-

pean Commission for Democracy Through Law (Venice Commission), Opinion No 516, CDL(2009)004 (19 January 2009) — Seite 17 —Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating

to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I) (adopted 8 June 1977, entered into force 7 December 1978) 1125 UNTS 3

Table of Cases XVII

Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relat-

Table of Cases

European Court of Human Rights

—Apcov v Moldova and Russia App No 13463/07 ECtHR (30 May 2017)

—Catan and Others v Moldova and Russia App Nos 43370/04, 8252/05, 18454/06 ECtHR (GC) (19 October 2012)

—Chiragov and Others v Armenia App No 13216/05 ECtHR (GC) (16 June 2015)

—Demopoulos and Others v Turkey [Admissibility] App Nos 46113/99, 3843/02, 13751/02, 13466/03, 10200/04, 14163/04, 19993/04, 21819/04 ECtHR (GC) (1 March 2010)

—Georgia v Russia (II) [Merits] App No 38263/08 ECtHR (GC) (21 January 2021)

—Ilaşcu and Others v Moldova and Russia App No 48787/99 ECtHR (GC) (8 July 2004)

—Ivantoc and Others v Moldova and Russia App No 23687/05 ECtHR (15 November 2011)

—Kolobychko v Moldova, Russia and Ukraine App No 36724/10 ECtHR (18 September 2018)

—Mozer v Moldova and Russia App No 11138/10 ECtHR (GC) (23 February 2016)

—Nana Muradyan v Armenia App No 69517/11 ECtHR (5 April 2022)

—Sargsyan v Azerbaijan App No 40167/06 ECtHR (GC) (16 June 2015)

—Soyma v Moldova, Russia and Ukraine App No 1203/05 ECtHR (30 May 2017)

—Zalyan and Others v Armenia App Nos 36894/04 and 3521/07 ECtHR (17 March 2016)

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Nations, Report of the International Committee of Jurists Entrusted by the Council of the League of Nations with the Task of Giving an Advisory Opinion upon the Legal Aspects of the Aaland Islands Questions (October 1920) League of Nations Official Journal, Special Supplement No 3 — Seite 18 —XVIII Bibliography

International Court of Justice

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—Situation in Georgia: Decision on the Prosecutor’s Request for Authorization of an Investigation Pre-Trial Chamber I ICC 01/15 (27 January 2016)

—Situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II ICC 02/17 (12 April 2019)

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

—Prosecutor v Boskoski and Tarculovski (Judgment) ICTY IT-04-82-T (10 July 2008)

—Prosecutor v Haradinaj et al (Judgment) ICTY IT-04-84-T (3 April 2008)

—Prosecutor v Milosevic (Decision on Motion for Judgement of Acquittal) ICTY IT-02-54-T (16 June 2004)

—Prosecutor v Tadić (Decision on the Defence Motion for Interlocutory Appeal on Jurisdiction) ICTY-94-1, A Ch (2 October 1995)

Permanent Court of Arbitration, South China Sea Arbitration (Republic of the

Philippines v People’s Republic of China), Transcript of Hearing on the Merits and Remaining Issues of Jurisdiction and Admissibility (Day 2) [2015] PCA Case No 2013-19

Sources of International and Regional Organisations XIX

Supreme Court of Canada, Reference re Secession of Quebec (August 1998) Su-

Sources of International and Regional Organisations

Council of the European Union, Council Joint Action, 2008/736/CFSP of 15 Sep-

tember 2008 on the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia, EUMM Georgia OJ L 248/26

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(2023)

CSCE Mission to Moldova, Report No 13 by the CSCE Mission to Moldova (1993)

EU Commission, Programming of the European Neighbourhood Instrument

(ENI) — 2017-2020 — Single Support Framework for EU Support to Moldova (2017-2020)

European Commission for Democracy Through Law (Venice Commission),

Opinion on the Law of Occupied Territories of Georgia, Opinion No 516, CDL-AD(2009)015 (17 March 2009)

European Council

—Conclusions of the European Council Meeting (23 and 24 June 2022), EUCO 24/22

—Conclusions of the European Council Meeting (14 and 15 December 2023) EUCO 20/23

—Res P9_TA(2022)0205 of 5 May 2022 on the State of Play of EU-Moldova, OJ C 465/151

European Parliament, Res P6_TA(2007)0358 of 12 July 2007 on Human Rights

Violations in Transnistria (Republic of Moldova)

General Assembly Adopts Texts Urging Troop Withdraw from Republic of

Moldova, Strengthening Cooperation in Central Asia (UN Press, 22 June 2018)

ILA, Final Report on the Meaning of Armed Conflict in International Law

(The Hague Conference 2010: Use of Force)

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—Report II (2009)

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OSCE

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—Mandate of the Co-Chairmen of the Conference on Nagorno Karabakh under the Auspicies of the OSCE (‹Minsk Conference), (23 March 1995), Doc 525/95

—Statement by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries, L’Aquila, Italy (10 July 2009)

—Transdniestrian Conflict: Origins and Issues (10 June 1994)

PACE

—Consequences of the Russian Federation’s Aggression against Ukraine, Opinion 300(2022) (15 March 2022)

—Ensuring a Just Peace in Ukraine and Lasting Security in Europe, Res 2516 (12 October 2023)

—Refugees and Displaced Persons in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, Res 1497 (13 April 2006)

—The Conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh Region Dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference, Res 1416 (25 January 2005)

—The Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by the Republic of Moldova, Res 1955 (2 October 2013)

—The Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by the Russian Federation, Res 1896 (2 October 2012)

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—The Role of the Council of Europe in Preventing Conflicts, Restoring Credibility of International Institutions and Promoting Global Peace, Doc 15821 Report (5 September 2023)

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Agreements and Memoranda

Agreement on a Ceasefire in Abkhazia and Arrangements to Monitor Its Ob-

servance (Georgia–Abkhazia–Russia), Signed 27 July 1993

Agreement on Further Development of Georgian-Ossetian Peaceful Settle-

ment Process and on Joint Control Commission (Georgia–Russia–North Ossetia–South Ossetia), Signed 31 October 1994

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(Sochi Agreement) (Georgia–Russia), Signed 24 June 1992

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