SHOULD PH RECOGNIZE CRIMEA?

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, chair of the Senate committee on foreign relations, and judge-elect of the International Criminal Court, said that the Philippine government should decide whether to recognize the new independent state of Crimea by taking into account non-legal factors, such as diplomatic abilities, the ability to raise international support, the ability to influence the media, and even military power.

"International law is neutral with respect to secession. International law neither prohibits nor promotes secession. The independence of Crimea will depend upon the acceptance of the international community," the senator said.

Santiago made the statement at the International Youth Conference in Taguig City last Friday sponsored by the AIESEC, a French acronym that stands for the world's largest youth-driven organization, representing some 124 countries and some 2,400 universities.

A few days ago, Crimea held a referendum where 97% of the locals voted to leave Ukraine and to join Russia.

The Ukraine government, with the support of the United States and the European Union, protested the referendum as a violation of international law.

But Santiago, an international law author and former international law professor at the University of the Philippines, said that at this time there is no principle of customary international law which allows a right to secede from a state.

"Crimea bases its claim on the right to internal self-determination. This is because the Crimea event does not yet constitute customary international law. We have to wait for international practice to develop in the future," she said.

Santiago said that the three main characteristics of customary international law are: repetition, practice, and the Latin principle of opinio juris.

"If the Philippines extends recognition to Crimea, in effect the Philippines is saying that Crimea is entitled to a principle of customary international law, most importantly the principle of opinio juris. This is the principle that for a practice to become a rule of customary international law, it must be shown that nations believe that international law mandates the practice. Opinio juris is not based on moral obligation," the senator said.

Santiago said: "I do not think that we have complied with the requirement of opinio juris. Some states will simply recognize Crimea as a state within the orbit of Russia, but recognition by other states will not amount to recognition of a general right to independence by Crimea," she said.

Reacting to comments that the Crimea crisis should follow the Kosovo case, where many states extended recognition to Kosovo when it seceded from Serbia, Santiago said that "when Kosovo invoked the right to secession, the world had already witnessed serious human rights violations in that area."

Santiago said that the Philippines, without necessarily granting recognition to Crimea, may simply proceed to conduct everyday working relations with Crimea.