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Self-Determination, the Chagos Advisory Opinion and the Chagossians

Bibliographic Data

ID9928048
AuthorsStephen Allen (0000-0001-6675-249X, Queen Mary University of London, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume69
Issue1
Pages203-220
Publication date2020-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational and Comparative Law Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-5893 • E-ISSN: 1471-6895
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0020589319000526
OpenAlexW2997442202
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited9

In its Chagos Advisory Opinion , the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the UK's detachment of the Chagos Archipelago from the colony of Mauritius on the eve of independence constituted a violation of customary international law (CIL). This article analyses the Court's approach to establishing the emergence and content of the right to self-determination in this frustrated case of decolonisation. It goes on to examine the argument that self-determination's peremptory character has decisive consequences in this specific context—a contention which found favour with several judges in their Separate Opinions. The article explores the extent to which the claims and counterclaims, made during the advisory proceedings, turned on countervailing readings of not only the key sources of custom but also of the principle of inter-temporal law. The final sections consider the significance of the Chagos Opinion for the Chagossians, both in relation to the Archipelago's resettlement and for their outstanding appeal in the UK courts (where the European Convention on Human Rights performs a pivotal role)

Advisory opinion · Appeal · Archipelago · Argument (complex analysis · Context (archaeology · Convention · Independence (probability theory · International court · International law · Political science · Public international law · Sociology · Economic Zones and Regional Development · History · Island Studies and Pacific Affairs · Law

  • Historicising Mauritian self-determination at the International Court of Justice

    Open Access•Z Nahaboo•The British Journal of Politics…•2024

  • Island of shame

    Jacklyn Cock•Journal of Contemporary African…•2010

  • Cases and Materials on International Law

    Clifford Hall•International Affairs•1974

Unique citing works1
Citations per year0,5
Citation span2024 - 2024 (1)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 1

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