The principle of territorial integrity. Description of the principle of territorial integrity of states and the principle of the inviolability of borders. Concept, types, significance of territories in international law. Principle of non-use of force or threat of force

For states, nothing is more important than their territory. The territory is the living space of the population, nation (nations), state. This is the number one value in the hierarchy of public values \u200b\u200band state interests. It is precisely the seizure of foreign ("no-man's") lands, the expansion of one's own living space, the plundering of "overseas territories" - all this for centuries has been one of the main functions of states, especially states of the Western civilizational type.

According to its composition, the state territory is subdivided into land, water, air, subsoil. For some parts of the territory, special international legal regimes are possible - on the basis of an international treaty.

It is clear that there will be peace and order on Earth only if the inviolability of the state territory is ensured, territorial sovereignty. An encroachment on territorial integrity provides a basis for the use of force in self-defense, for the inclusion of collective security mechanisms.

It seems that Russian military and foreign policy doctrines should proceed from the premise that the territorial integrity of Russia is the highest value, subject to protection at any cost, up to the preemptive use of nuclear weapons against external forces that threaten Russia's integrity. The Constitution of Russia contains a provision (Article 4): "The Russian Federation ensures the integrity and inviolability of its territory."

Principle territorial integrity states can be considered a kind of continuation of the principle non-use of force. The UN Charter (Article 2, paragraph 4) states that states must refrain from the threat or use of force “against territorial inviolability " any state. Territorial integrity is the foundation political independence, therefore, these two concepts often go side by side. Concept territorial inviolability developed during the period of national liberation movements in the middle of the 20th century and thereafter.

The concept of "territorial inviolability" is broader than the concept of "territorial integrity". If a foreign aircraft invades the country's airspace, there is a violation of the territorial inviolability, but not integrity.

The content of this principle is helped to reveal the Declaration of Principles of the MP (1970). It says: “... The territory of a state should not be an object of acquisition by another state as a result of the threat or use of force. No territorial gains resulting from the threat or use of force should be recognized as legitimate. The territory of a state should not be an object of military occupation resulting from the use of force in violation of the provisions of the Charter (meaning the UN Charter). ... Each state must refrain from any action aimed at partial or complete violation of the national unity and territorial integrity of any other state or country. "

The progressive development of the principle continued in the text of the Declaration of Principles (Art. IV), included in the Final Act of the 1975 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

In 1998, in view of the increased frequency of violations of the MP, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution "Maintaining international security - preventing the forcible dismemberment of states." The resolution confirmed the need to comply with the principles of the territorial integrity of each state and the inviolability of international borders.

When it comes to territorial integrity and inviolability, we also mean the territory of military bases that are located abroad under an agreement with the host country, the territory of diplomatic and consular missions, military and merchant ships and aircraft. An encroachment on them is tantamount to a violation of this principle of the MP.

The principle of territorial integrity and inviolability also implies the obligation of states to prevent the use of their territory for the implementation of any actions that infringe on the rights of other states.

Examples of violations by states the principle of territorial integrity and inviolability are numerous. In the late 90s of the XX - early XXI century, the Georgian authorities allowed the existence on their territory of bases of armed bandits and terrorists who made sorties against the adjacent regions of Russia. Thus, the territorial integrity was threatened and the territorial inviolability of Russia was violated. For this reason, the reaction of the Russian authorities, which warned about the possibility of bombing these bases, was quite justified.

The inviolability of a territory also means the inviolability of its natural resources, as well as the natural conditions that exist in this territory. Thus, one of the justifications for the invasion of Kuwait by the Iraqi armed forces in 1990 was the accusation of Kuwait that it pumps out more oil from the oil sea in the general field than it was provided for by its quota. In other words, an assassination attempt was perceived as a sufficient reason for war.

In November 2005, a Russian military plane, having lost its orientation and lost its course, entered the airspace of Latvia and crashed on the territory of that country; the pilot ejected. In this case, a violation of territorial inviolability was also established. The investigation revealed that there was no intention to violate the airspace of Latvia. The pilot returned to his homeland, the remains of the aircraft were returned to Russia, and Russia paid appropriate compensation in compensation for the damage caused.

In some cases, a legitimate violation of the territorial integrity of states is possible - for example, as responsibility for a committed aggression. So, after the Second World War, a special legal regime was established for governing West Berlin and Germany as a whole.

Lawful territorial changes are possible under an agreement between states and with the consent of the population. Annexation, “effective occupation”, acquisition of territory “by prescription”, contractual and non-contractual assignments (cessions of territory), as a rule, are illegal in most cases.

All the colonial conquests carried out by European states and the United States were illegal. In 1960, at the initiative of the USSR, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. Colonialism has legally become an international crime. The former colonies were able to exercise their right to self-determination in various forms: the creation of a sovereign state, free accession to an independent state (or union with it), the establishment of any other political status freely determined by the people.

The developed (Western) states tried in various ways to leave the colonies in their sphere of influence, to change the overt forms of exploitation by more veiled ones. This process was named neocolonialism.

Nevertheless, formally, most of the colonies became independent states. Relatively recently, for example, the former South African colony - Namibia (since 1990) gained independence. At the same time, a number of colonial territories remained under various pretexts as part of the former metropolises. For example, the French colony in the Indian Ocean - Reunion Island - became the "overseas department" of France. The "overseas territories of France" were considered the islands of New Caledonia in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, several archipelagos in the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean - "French Polynesia"; Guadeloupe - in the Caribbean; Martinique.

The US colony in the Eastern Pacific Ocean from several strategically important islands - Eastern Samoa - has become a US possession (American Samoa) with local self-government. The following territories can also be attributed to such postcolonial possessions: Norfolk Island in the South Pacific Ocean (owned by Australia); the island of Aruba in the southern Caribbean (owned by the Netherlands); Pitcairn Island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, Saint Helena Island in the South Atlantic Ocean and many other islands around the world (British possessions).

Should the principle of territorial integrity and inviolability apply to these possessions? Great question.

14. PRINCIPLE OF TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF STATES

This principle was established with the adoption of the UN Charter in 1945, but the process of its development continues. The very name of the principle was not finally established: you can find references to both territorial integrity and territorial inviolability. Both of these concepts are close in meaning, but their legal content is different. Concept territorial inviolabilitybroader concept territorial integrity:an unauthorized invasion of a state's airspace by a foreign aircraft would be a violation of its territorial inviolability, while the territorial integrity of the state would not be violated.

The purpose of this principle in the modern world is great from the point of view of stability in interstate relations - it is to protect the territory of the state from any encroachments. In accordance with Part 3 of Art. 4 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation "The Russian Federation ensures the integrity and inviolability of its territory."

In the 1970 Declaration on the Principles of International Law, when disclosing the content of the wording of paragraph 4 of Art. 2 of the UN Charter reflected many elements of the principle of territorial integrity (inviolability) and established that each state "must refrain from any action aimed at partial or complete violation of the national unity and territorial integrity of any other state or country."

The content of this principle in the CSCE Final Act goes beyond the provisions prohibiting the use of force or the threat of force, or the transformation of a territory into an object of military occupation, or the acquisition of territory through the use of force or its threat. According to the Final Act, states, pledging to respect each other's territorial integrity, must "refrain from any action incompatible with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter." This can include any actions against territorial integrity or inviolability - the transit of any vehicles through a foreign territory without the permission of the territorial sovereign is a violation not only of the inviolability of borders, but also of the inviolability of the state territory, since it is it that is used for transit. All natural resources are integral components of the territory of the state, and if the territory as a whole is inviolable, then its components, that is, natural resources in their natural form, are inviolable. Therefore, their development by foreign persons or states without the permission of the territorial sovereign is also a violation of territorial inviolability.

In peaceful communication between neighboring states, the problem often arises of protecting the state territory from the danger of causing damage to it by any influence from abroad, that is, the danger of deteriorating the natural state of this territory or its individual components. The use of its territory by a state should not damage the natural conditions of the territory of another state.

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The UN Charter prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity (inviolability) and political independence of states. In the Declaration on the Principles of International Law of 1970, when disclosing the content of paragraph 4 of Art. 2 of the UN Charter reflected certain elements of the principle, which is interpreted as part of the principle of the sovereign equality of states and the principle of the non-use of force and the threat of force in international relations. The 1970 Declaration on Principles of International Law states that "the territorial integrity and political independence of the state are inviolable." It is especially noted that the territory of a state should not be an object of military occupation resulting from the use of force in violation of the provisions of the UN Charter, and that the territory of a state should not be an object of acquisition by another state as a result of the threat or use of force. No territorial gains resulting from the threat or use of force should be recognized as legitimate.

However, given the importance of this principle, the OSCE participating States considered it necessary to highlight it as an independent principle, which they intend to be guided by in mutual relations. In this regard, the 1975 CSCE Final Act contains the most complete formulation of the principle of the territorial integrity of states: “The participating states will respect the territorial integrity of each of the participating states. Accordingly, they will refrain from any action inconsistent with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, against the territorial integrity, political independence or unity of any participating State and, in particular, from any such action constituting the use of force or the threat of force. ... The participating States will likewise refrain from turning each other's territory into an object of military occupation or other direct or indirect measures of the use of force in violation of international law or an object of acquisition through such measures or the threat of their implementation. No occupation or acquisition of this kind will be recognized as legal. ”

The principle now exists in a customary legal form, but indirect evidence of its action is found in bilateral agreements of a political nature, in regional documents, in particular the statutory documents of political regional organizations. Thus, the preamble and art. 2 of the Charter of the Organization of African Unity (hereinafter - OAU) establishes that the goals of the Organization are to protect the territorial integrity, natural resources of African states; Art. The V LAS Pact also touches upon the problem of protecting the territorial integrity of the member states of the League.

The territory serves as the material basis of any state, it is a necessary condition for its existence. All natural resources are integral components of the territory of the state, and if the territory as a whole is inviolable, then its components, that is, natural resources in their natural form, are inviolable. Their development by foreign persons or states without the permission of the territorial sovereign is recognized as a violation of the territorial inviolability of the state. Therefore, states pay special attention to ensuring its integrity. Even the Statute of the League of Nations obliged to respect and preserve the territorial integrity of the member states against any external attack. This principle was established with the adoption of the UN Charter in 1945.

Sometimes the principle of the territorial integrity of states is also referred to as the principle of the integrity of the state territory or the principle of inviolability of the state territory, but the essence is the same - the prohibition of the forcible seizure, annexation or dismemberment of the territory of a foreign state.

In paragraph 4 of Art. 2 of the UN Charter contains an order on the obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial inviolability of states, thereby finally establishing the principle of the territorial integrity of states, albeit in a concise formulation.

The 1970 Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation between States in Accordance with the UN Charter states that every state “must refrain from any action aimed at partial or complete violation of the national unity and territorial integrity of any other state or country". It also noted that "the territory of a state should not be the object of military occupation resulting from the use of force in violation of the provisions of the Charter," and that "the territory of a state should not be an object of acquisition by another state as a result of the threat or use of force." Any territorial gain arising from the threat or use of force should not be recognized as legitimate.

This principle of international law was also developed in the 1975 Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which contains its separate and most complete formulation: “The participating States will respect the territorial integrity of each of the participating States. Accordingly, they will refrain from any action inconsistent with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, against the territorial integrity, political independence or unity of any participating State and, in particular, from any such action constituting the use of force or threat of force. ... The participating States will equally refrain from turning each other's territory into an object of military occupation or other direct or indirect measures of the use of force in violation of international law or into an object of acquisition through such measures or the threat of their implementation. No occupation or acquisition of this kind will be recognized as legal. ” Moreover, this applies to any actions against territorial integrity or inviolability. For example, the transit of any vehicles through a foreign territory without the permission of the territorial sovereign is a violation not only of the inviolability of borders, but also of the inviolability of the state territory, since it is this territory that is used for transit.