The Meaning and Effects of Erga Omnes within the Prespa Agreement of 17 June 2018 between Greece and North Macedonia. An Introductory Note



Tzevelekos, Vasileios ORCID: 0000-0002-5091-3786
(2020) The Meaning and Effects of Erga Omnes within the Prespa Agreement of 17 June 2018 between Greece and North Macedonia. An Introductory Note. Questions of International Law, Zoom-in, 65. pp. 1-19.

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Abstract

The Prespa Agreement (PA, the Agreement) is a bilateral international treaty between Greece and North Macedonia that entered into force on 12 February 2019. Its primary purpose is the settlement of a relatively longstanding dispute that arose in the aftermath of the former Yugoslavia’s dissolution, when North Macedonia declared its independence under the constitutional name of Republic of Macedonia. Greece, whose northern region is also called Macedonia, was opposed to the use of this name by its neighbour for a number of reasons, involving historical concerns and fears of irredentism. Article 1(3)(a) of the PA provides as follows: ‘The official name of the Second Party [i.e. the state nowadays named North Macedonia] shall be the “Republic of North Macedonia”, which shall be the constitutional name of the Second Party and shall be used erga omnes, as provided for in this Agreement. The short name of the Second Party shall be “North Macedonia”.’ Other provisions of the PA define the new terminologies to be used regarding North Macedonia’s nationals and language. This note presents the architecture and key features of the Agreement and sets the scene for the two papers hosted in the QIL issue on the PA that it (i.e. this note) introduces. These papers treat the PA as a case study offering the opportunity to define the meaning and the effects of the term ‘erga omnes’ within this particular context, discuss who is bound by the Agreement, and explore the obligations and rights this treaty potentially establishes for non-parties. In that respect, the note identifies three key scenarios. First, the term ‘erga omnes’ might be read as referring to the instances when and the persons vis-à-vis whom the agreed terminologies must be used; not vis-à-vis whom the obligation to employ these terminologies is owed. Thus, according to this scenario, the obligation to use the agreed terminologies for all usages and all purposes, erga omnes, both domestically and internationally is a bilateral obligation that one party to the PA owes to the other party. Thus, the PA is a bilateral treaty establishing reciprocal, synallagmatic obligations pertaining to interests that, prima facie, are exclusive to the two parties to the Agreement. The PA establishes no rights or obligations for third parties according to this scenario. The second scenario consists in reading the PA as a bilateral treaty, a part of which is aimed at establishing obligations (and rights) for non-parties consenting to adopt and use the new terminologies. This scenario raises questions such as whether consenting third parties assume a duty to employ these terminologies, as well as vis-à-vis whom such an obligation is owed. Finally, the third scenario considers that the settlement of the naming dispute is a means of prevention of territorial claims, tension and conflict, and serves purposes that are not solely “private”, and which do not exclusively concern the interests of the parties to it. Peace, conflict prevention and the preservation of the existing borders are also a matter of general interest. Therefore, the PA could fall within the category of treaties establishing an objective regime, i.e. a regime binding everyone and which ought to be respected by everyone, including non-parties to the Agreement. Qualifying part of the PA as an objective regime would imply the establishment of an obligation owed by all actors vis-à-vis all other actors, that is to say, an obligation erga omnes.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Source info: Questions of International Law, QIL, Zoom-in 65 (2020) 1-19
Uncontrolled Keywords: Prespa Agreement, North Macedonia, treaty law, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, obligations erga omnes, objective regime, third party effect
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 19 May 2020 10:10
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2023 23:54
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3083910