Right of self-determination – role of referendums in the process of independence

Abstract

The thesis concerns public international law, right of self-determination and the role of the referendums in the process of independence. The primary goal and a research question for this thesis is to determine whether independence referendum is a pre-requisite for the state to get internationally recognized. This thesis shows uncertainties in public international law in regard to the referendums and outlines how these uncertainties are used by the states to gain political power. It also shows how big role plays politics in regard to the public international law, the principle of self-determination and independence referendums, because there is a lack of scholarly discussion about this issue and how the politics influence it.