This week, the United Nations’ International Court of Justice ruled that Kosovo’s declaration of Independence and secession from Serbia was legal. The secession was held as valid even though Serbia’s Constitution specifically makes secession illegal. What does this mean for the empire? PLENTY!
1) The US legal establishment has held that secession is illegal based on it not being specified as allowed in the Constitution. The grounds for that logic is now in flawed. (It was flawed before, but few legal scholars had the cajones to address it).
2) With the increasing emphasis on international law, especially with the US Supreme Court relying on it in the Lawrence V. Texas case and Elana Kagan wanting more international law applied, this precedent says that the UN trumps previous US court decisions. In this case, the UN trumps the Texas v. White ruling, which many legal pundits cite as case law on the illegality of secession, yet had they read the case, it does not make secession illegal, it just puts so many strings on it, that it is cumbersome. It was never ruled that secession is illegal.
3) The SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) will need to decide whether US case law or international case law will be its standard. If it goes with international, then secession is legal. If it goes with US, then the Constitution and US law still has some power.
4) If you are an ardent secessionist, you realize that there does not need to be another secession vote by any state. They just need to be enacted again. The question is whether the states will have the courage to do so.
Liberty for Texas and the South!
J Murrah
case law on secession, Current Affairs, international law and the SCOTUS, Political Well Being, SCOTUS, secession
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