State Continuity and Nationality: The Baltic States and Russia: Past, Present and Future as Defined by International Law. Second Revised Edition

Political changes in Central and Eastern Europe in the 1990s led to important territorial changes and confronted decision-makers and international lawyers with complex questions relevant to State continuity and succession. The case of the Baltic States was particularly difficult since they re-emerged after half-a-century of Soviet occupation. In addition to questions on the status of new States, important issues arose with regard to the fate of nationals of the former federations, generating frantic international efforts in developing and consolidating available rules and principles on nationality in situations of territorial change. In this context, the Baltic case stood apart. It raised questions of non-recognition of consequences of their illegal occupation in international law, but that was not the way the issues were dealt with. The book documents and examines the story of the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States in 1940 and their claim to State continuity fifty years later. It brings in the issue of the obligations of Russia in this context. The book asks the question what nationality solutions had to be adopted in the region and shows the scrutiny they received from international institutions. This second edition of the book revisits decisions that were taken in the 1990s and asks whether they have withstood the test of time. The case of the Baltic States is an example of the strength of international law rules, when applied with courage, and of the risks, when too many compromises with rules and principles are accepted. Although the book is specific in its coverage, it is of general importance because it draws conclusions concerning developments in law and practice which are relevant for a better understanding and regulation of statehood and nationality in international law.

Table of Contents:
Contents Foreword to the First Edition Preface to the Second Edition Table of Cases List of Abbreviations  PART 1 Introduction 1 State Continuity and Nationality: An Overview of the Issues and the Limits of Inquiry 2 The Persistent Significance of Nationality  PART 2 The State 3 Claims of the Baltic States to State Continuity  1 Introduction  2 Estonia  3 Latvia  4 Lithuania  5 Conclusions 4 The View of the Russian Federation Concerning Its International Legal Status  1 Introduction  2 Constitutional Developments since 1990  3 Continuity of the Russian Federation in the 1993 Constitution  4 Other Principles of the Constitution  5 Conclusions 5 International Reactions to the Claims of the Baltic States and the Russian Federation  1 Introduction  2 The Practice of International Organisations  3 Bilateral Relations  4 Conclusions 6 Assessment of Claims to State Continuity in an International Law Context  1 Introduction  2 International Legal Personality of States  3 Statehood in International Law  4 State Continuity and/or Identity  5 State Succession v. State Continuity  PART 3 Nationality 7 The Regulation of Nationality in the Baltic States  1 Introduction  2 Estonia  3 Latvia  4 Lithuania  5 Conclusions 8 The Regulation of Nationality in the Russian Federation  1 Introduction  2 The Constitutional Provisions  3 The 1991 Law on Citizenship  4 The Right of a Child to Russian Nationality  5 Federal Law on State Policy Regarding Compatriots Abroad  6 The 2002 Citizenship Law  7 The 2023 Citizenship Law  8 Commentary 9 The Regulation of Nationality in International Law  1 Introduction  2 International Law Concept of Nationality  3 The Historical Overview  4 Modern Developments  5 Relevant Customary International Law and General Principles of International Law  6 The Effective Link Principle  7 Validity of Nationality in International Law  8 Conclusions 10 The Regulation of Nationality in Situations of Territorial Change: Selected State Practice  1 Introduction  2 Principles Relating to Nationality in the Context of State Continuity  3 Presumption of Continuity of Nationality  4 Presumption of Automatic Change of Nationality  5 Relevance of State Succession Categories in Nationality Matters  6 Conclusions 11 Conclusions Concerning Nationality Laws of the Baltic States and the Russian Federation  1 The Russian Federation  2 The Baltic States  PART 4 Human Rights 12 Human Rights Aspects of the Regulation of Nationality  1 Introduction  2 The Right to a Nationality  3 The Non-discrimination Rule  4 The Principle of the Reduction of Statelessness  5 Conclusions 13 Human Rights Obligations of the Baltic States and Russia Applicable in Matters of Nationality  1 Introduction  2 Reception of International Human Rights Law in the National Legal Systems: Main Principles  3 The Right to a Nationality  4 The Non-discrimination Rule  5 Reduction of Statelessness  6 Conclusions 14 Nationality Laws and Minority Rights in the Baltic States  1 Introduction  2 Minorities in the Baltic States: Overview  3 Obligations Stemming from Minority Rights Relevant in Matters of Nationality  4 Minority Rights of Non-nationals  5 Future Challenges  PART 5 General Conclusions General Conclusions  Statehood  State Continuity  Nationality  Human Rights  The Baltic States  The Russian Federation  Final Remarks Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Ineta Ziemele is Judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union and Professor of International Law at the Riga Graduate School of Law in Latvia. Since 2017 she is a corresponding Member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. She has served as President of the Latvian Constitutional Court and Judge on the European Court of Human Rights and President of Section. She received her legal education at the University of Latvia, Lund University (M.I.L.) and University of Cambridge (Ph.D.) and held Chevening, Fulbright, and Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public and International Law research scholarships. She is the founder and co-editor-in-chief of the Baltic Yearbook of International Law and member of advisory or editorial boards of the European Convention on Human Rights Law Review and International Journal on Minority and Groups Rights.

Review :
“Since the return of the Baltic States to independence, the development of their nationality law, the balancing of their claim to national unity and the rights to be granted to the Soviet-time settlers has been of the greatest concern for these countries as a matter both of secure existence and of human rights. The author of the present work, Judge Ineta Ziemele, has probably been the most influential individual contributor to this process, both in her academic work and in her role as a domestic as well as European Judge. In her book she thus reviews and updates a story to which she herself has been an actor. Putin’s restorative imperialism behind Russia ‘s war of aggression against Ukraine makes this book essential reading." Munich/The Hague, March 2025 Bruno Simma, Emeritus Professor, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and a former judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). “It is great merit of Dr. Ziemele’s work that she locates the specific questions of interest to the Baltic States and their peoples within the general framework of international law. (..) The result is a valuable account both of the specific and the general." Cambridge, November 2005 James Crawford†, at the time Whewell Professor of International Law, University of Cambridge