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The 'Arbitration Commission of the Conference on Yugoslavia' (commonly known as 'Badinter Arbitration Committee') was a commission set up by the Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community on 27 August 1991 to provide the Conference on Yugoslavia with legal advice. Robert Badinter was appointed to President of the five-member Commission consisting of presidents of Constitutional Courts in the EEC. The Arbitration Commission has handed down fifteen opinions on "major legal questions" arisen by the split of the SFRY.^[1]

Contents

Commission members

Opinions

Opinion No. 1 (Dissolution of SFRY)

Opinion No. 2 (Self-determination)

Opinion No. 3 (Borders)

References

External links

Commission members

★ Robert Badinter, president of the Constitutional Council of France

★ Roman Herzog, president of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany

★ Aldo Corasaniti, president of the Constitutional Court of Italy

★ Francisco Tomás y Valiente, president of the Constitutional Court of Spain

★ Irene Petry, president of the Constitutional Court of Belgium

Opinions

Between late 1991 and the middle of 1993, the Arbitration Commission handed down fifteen opinions pertaining to legal issues arising from the fragmentation of Yugoslavia.^[2]

Opinion No. 1 (Dissolution of SFRY)

On 20 November 1991 Lord Carrington asked if some republics seceded from SFRY, which, as Serbia and Montenegro had claimed, continues to exist, or did SFRY dissolve and all of the republics were equal successors to the SFRY. The commission replied on 29 November 1991 that "the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia is in the process of dissolution".¹

Opinion No. 2 (Self-determination)

On 20 November 1991 Lord Carrington asked: "Does the Serbian population in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, as one of the constituent peoples of Yugoslavia, have the right to self-determination?" The commission concluded on 11 January 1992 that "that the Serbian population in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia is entitled to all the rights concerned to minorities and ethnic groups[...]" and "that the Republics must afford the members of those minorities and ethnic groups all the human rights and fundamental freedoms recognized in international law, including, where appropriate, the right to choose their nationality".¹

Opinion No. 3 (Borders)

On 20 November 1991 Lord Carrington asked: "Can the internal boundaries between Croatia and Serbia and between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia be regarded as frontiers in terms of public international law?" Applying the principle of uti possidetis, the commission concluded on 11 January 1992 that "The boundaries between Croatia and Serbia, between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia, and possibly other adjacent independent states may not be altered except by agreement freely arrived at." and "Except where otherwise agreed, the former boundaries become frontiers protected by international law."²

References

1. The Opinions of the Badinter Arbitration Committee: A Second Breath for the Self-Determination of Peoples, Allain Pellet, , , European Journal of International Law, 1992
2. Post-Secession International Borders: A Critical Analysis of the Opinions of the Badinter Arbitration Commission, Peter Radan, , , Melbourne University Law Review, 2000

External links

★ Testimony of Vladislav Jovanovic at the Milosevic ICTY trial, 14 February 2005