The Secession of Crimea From Ukraine: An International Law Perspective

The secession of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 was one of the most talked-about issues  by  the  media,  politicians,  and  decision-makers.  The  secession  worsened  relations between the West and Russia thereby, threatening international peace and security. This paper looks at the secession of Crimea from Ukraine from an international law perspective. The goal of the paper is to examine whether Crimea's secession from Ukraine was legal or illegal under international law. This paper argues that the secession of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and its  subsequent  incorporation  into  Russia  is  illegal  under  international  law  because  Russia intervened in Crimea. On the one hand, the findings of this paper support my central thesis/ argument. On the other hand, the findings of this study revealed that proponents of Crimea's secession  from  Ukraine  like  Russia  argue  thatthe  secession  of  Crimea  is  legal  under international law because of international laws on self –determination and because Crimea's secession from Ukraine is similar to Kosovo's secession from Serbia