uto possidetis...(3/1)

Under the internationally accepted “uti possidetis” principle, the rule of territorial integrity applies to the case of Georgia, and under the dismemberment of the Soviet Union, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, being recognized as part of Georgia, should go along with Georgia as an integral entity under the new administration of Georgia. According to the empirical studies of Zacher, such international-accepted norm widely affirms its applicability from the balance of power of the League of Nations to the retreat of Spanish governance in the Latin America. The UN Charter as well as major regional treaties like the Helsinki Declaration in 1975 since then strengthened “uti possidetis” as the international legal guiding principle to look at territorial integrity...
In the context of South Ossetia and Abkhazia demand for independence, the principle ruled out any recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states, which Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and most recently Nauru did, and not to mention the bilateral recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia themselves. Unlike the Kosovo exception, the UN Security Council Resolution 1808 (April 2008) reiterated the territorial integrity of Georgia and the settlement of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict should be by peaceful means within the resolution provision. But less than 4 months, the conflict turned to be violent act at the Kodori Valley in Abkhazia.
The Russia-led recognition of the two new states clearly challenges the existing international law on sovereignty, and any impact of such could greatly influence the global policy on Israel and Palestine, Taiwan and Tibet or Montreal etc. Charles King commented that Russia’s bet for the independent South Ossetia and Abkhazia could also back-fire its own territory if any ethnic-concentrated areas would follow this powerful precedent, like the Chechnya, North Ossetia or Circassia. However, the current close social and economic relationship with South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as reflected in their use of ruble currency, Russian language in lieu of Georgian, as well as the recent change of international telephone code to Russian prefixes, “upgraded” Russia’s power in the Caucasus region...