Recognition of states in international law

This chapter reviews the question of state recognition in international law. The recognition of a territorial entity as a state by the international community of states is of fundamental importance to that entity. Irrespective of the relative merits of the declaratory and constitutive theories of state recognition, recognition constitutes important evidence of a territorial entity’s status as a state and facilitates its entry into the international community of states. In outlining international law principles dealing with recognition, this chapter will first detail the traditional, essentially empirical, criteria of statehood that a territorial entity seeking recognition needs to satisfy before it can be recognised and, second, other criteria that have been suggested or applied in some cases of recognition. The subsequent section will look at the question of derecognising states. The final part of the chapter will outline the processes by which a state obtains recognition.