The Right to Self-Determination in International Law

Thomas Weatherall is an Attorney-Adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser for Diplomatic Law and Litigation of the U.S. Department of State. Prior to that assignment, he served in the Office of the Legal Adviser for Human Rights and Refugees, where he advised on the right to self-determination. He has also served as an Alternate Representative in the U.S. Mission to the Organization of American States, representing the United States before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in that capacity, and was an Adviser and Expert Negotiator in the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, where he represented the United States in delegations to the U.N. General Assembly Third Committee. Dr Weatherall holds a J.D. from Georgetown University, a Ph.D. in International Law from the University of Cambridge, an M.Sc. in Global Governance and Diplomacy from the University of Oxford, and a B.A. in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins University.

IntroductionPART I. SOURCES1. Historical Antecedents2. International Instruments3. Resolutions and Declarations4. International Court of Justice Judgments and Opinions5. Normative Status of Self-DeterminationPART II. CONTENT6. Peoples: Subjects and Beneficiaries of the Right to Self-Determination7. The International Aspect of Self-Determination8. The Domestic Aspect of Self-Determination9. States: Subjects of Obligations under the Right to Self-DeterminationPART III. PRACTICE10. The United Nations11. International Dispute Settlement12. Implementation and EnforcementConclusionAppendix 1. Former Trust Territories and Non-Self-Governing TerritoriesAppendix 2. Non-Self-Governing Territories