Recognition of the State of Palestine: Still Too Much Too Soon?
‘Recognition of the State of Palestine: Still Too Much Too Soon?’ in Christine Chinkin and Freya Baetens (eds) Sovereignty, Statehood and State Responsibility - Essays in Honour of James Crawford (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015)
18 Pages Posted: 18 Dec 2013 Last revised: 15 Apr 2015
Date Written: December 16, 2013
Abstract
On 29 November 2012, the UN General Assembly in Resolution 67/19 decided ‘to accord to Palestine non-member observer State status in the United Nations’. This resolution is widely view as having recognized the existence of the state of Palestine. This article considers whether that is indeed the case. First, it examines whether the General Assembly can generate an objective statehood through collective recognition. It then examines whether UNGA Resolution 67/19 actually recognises the existence of - or creates - a state of Palestine. While concluding that the answer is negative, the article nevertheless acknowledges that the Resolution is not devoid of legal consequences; those are considered in the final section. The article does not purport to settle the question whether the entity under Palestinian Authority governance presently fulfills the effectiveness criteria, since the situation on the ground has not changed as a result of the adoption of the Resolution.
Keywords: Palestine, recognition, observer status, statehood
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