India’s Removal of Kashmir’s Special Protection Status: an Internationally Wrongful Act?

India abrogated Articles 370 and 35A of its Constitution in August of 2019, effectively removing Kashmir’s longstanding special protection status. Kashmir’s special protection status provided Kashmiris with an additional degree of autonomy than India’s states, and its revocation left Kashmir under greater control of Delhi.1 Several organizations flagged human rights concerns regarding the sudden revocation of the region’s special protection status and the subsequent lockdown. This article seeks to narrowly address whether the removal of Kashmir’s special protection status was a violation of international law. This article demonstrates that although Kashmiris’ internal right to self-determination may serve as a theory for illegality under International law, the right to self-determination must be balanced against India’s national security interests and duty to protect. Thus, India’s removal of Kashmir’s special protection status was likely an internationally lawful act