‘States not Governments’: Reforming Britain’s Practice on Diplomatic Recognition, 1973-1980

Young, John W.

Abstract

The subject of recognition is basic to the way in which relations are conducted between states: they cannot easily communicate if they do not recognize one another’s existence. The question is also a difficult one in international law because, in practice, governments often adopt a pragmatic approach when specific instances of recognition arise. One important difference in practice was between countries — including Britain until 1980 — that extended recognition to particular governments and those that focused simply on the recognition of states. However, in April 1980, Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Lord Carrington, announced a change in practice, so that London would ‘recognize States in accordance with common international doctrine’. This announcement followed years of discussion within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, a discussion that was influenced by complex legal considerations over recognition and by membership of the European Community. This article investigates how and why such a change in British practice on recognition came about, showing that the British also gave consideration to a compromise solution, which would have involved tacit recognition of new governments, short of dispensing with such recognition altogether.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 19, 2013
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2014
• Deposit Date: Aug 24, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 19, 2019
• Print ISSN: 1871-1901
• Electronic ISSN: 1871-191X
• Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 1
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/1871191X-12341268
• Keywords: diplomatic recognition; United Kingdom; international law; Foreign and Commonwealth Office; European Community; Margaret Thatcher
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1110403
• Publisher URL: https://brill.com/view/journals/hjd/9/1/article-p51_3.xml