In recent months, Georgia has faced a deepening constitutional crisis. After elections marred with irregularities, the legality and legitimacy of the rule of the present powers-that-be have been questioned domestically and increasingly also internationally. These challenges to its authority have not barred the ruling party – Georgian Dream – from beginning parliamentary sessions as the sole party present and, consequently, nominating a government and electing a president. On the inauguration of the president elected by Georgian Dream, Mikheil Kavelashvili, on 29 December 2024, the predominantly domestic political crisis transformed into a matter of international concern. Salome Zourabichvili, Georgia’s fifth president, declines to recognize the legality of the parliament and, hence, the legality of Kavelashvili, allowing her to declare herself as the only legitimate president of the country. It is this two-president problem that has made domestic politics an international affair and recognition of a head of state a matter of interest. Traditionally, international law has drawn a distinction between political and legal…
Government
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The law and politics of creation of the micro religious Bektashi state in Albania
On 21 September 2024, the New York Times reported Albania’s plan to create the State of Bektashi. Bektashi is a Muslim Shiite Sufi order founded in the 13th century in Turkey with its headquarters based in Albania since 1930. On 22 September 2024, Mr Edi Rama, the Prime Minister of Albania announced…
Closing the Gaps: Pre-Deployment Role of the Military Legal Adviser
As US involvement in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan comes to an end after twenty years, it is worth taking stock of how things stand in relation to the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC). This law serves dual purposes: military necessity (which permits measures which are necessary to fulfil a legitimate military purpose provided they are…
Contested Governments and State Representation before International Courts and Tribunals
Introduction When the identity of a state’s government is contested or otherwise in doubt, who may represent the state for some specific purpose of international law is not-infrequently a contentious matter. While the question who may represent a state before or vis-à-vis an international adjudicative body does not arise often, there exists a number of…
Two Questions on Coups and Representation before International Courts
Think of Myanmar, and the awful consequences of the military coup which are continuing to unfold. One of these consequences – among the least awful, but among the more legally interesting – is that in the immediate aftermath of the coup it is unclear which set of individuals is the government of that state, entitled to represent it…
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