Shaklein, V.V. Theoretical aspects of correlation of the UN membership and recognition of the new states

Abstract: This article is devoted to the issues of correlation between recognition of the new states and the UN membership. The author evaluates the provisions of the UN Charter and other normative acts, as well as the international judicial decisions. In particular, he analyzes the decision of the International Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), showing that the UN membership equals recognition of a subject as new state, as well as that the subject having the UN membership, while not being de facto independent (sovereign), can be recognized as a state due to its membership in this organization. In the opinion of the author such an approach is not realistic, since it contradicts the existing practice. The author defines recognition of one state by the other as an act of political will and expression of sovereignty of a recognizing state, since it remains in the total discretion of a recognizing state, while the UN membership is a legal act. The author points out a number of reasons for which the UN membership cannot be equal to the collective recognition of a new state by the UN Member States.

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