Right to self-determination or territorial integrity? : An international legal perspective of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabagh

The peoples’ right to self-determination as well as the principle of territorial integrity of states are two of the most fundamental principles of international law. The two principles can be seen as counterparties, but at the same time they both conclude similarities and depend on each other. Throughout history, the world has seen a number of conflicts, in which one party claims the peoples’ right to self-determination, while the other party relies on the principle of territorial integrity. Furthermore, the parties to a conflict might have different views on what the two principles actually mean. Both principles are included in the Charter of the United Nations. The people’s right to self-determination is expressed in Article 1 (2) and the principle of territorial integrity of states derives from Article 2 (4). However, neither the Charter of the United Nations, nor any other international convention handles the relation between the two principles or explains their precise meanings. Because of this frequently occurring conflict of interest, the United Nations have adopted resolutions on the topic at several occasions. The International Court of Justice has issued Judgements and Advisory Opinions, most lately in the case of Kosovo in 2010. Lawyers have expressed their opinions on the two principles and its relation to each other in a number of works of international legal literature. Yet still, the statuses as well as the exact significations of the principles within international law are not clear. The Nagorno-Karabagh conflict is an ongoing international conflict involving Armenia and Azerbaijan. It comprises the conflict of interest between the people’s right to self-determination and the territorial integrity of states. In this essay, the two principles as well as their relation to each other will be described. With the purpose of analyzing the legal arguments of the different parties to the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict, the essay will also include an application of the legal principles to the conflict