Small Island States & International Law

Carolin König works as a lawyer in a law firm specializing in energy law. Her personal focus is on international law and the climate policy aspects of energy law. She studied law at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and holds a PhD in international law. She was a research assistant at the Institute for International Law with a focus on International Human Rights Protection at the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich. She also gained professional experience at the German Foreign Office, in various law firms, including in the field of asylum law, and as legal advisor to the Permanent Mission of the Maldives to the United Nations.

A. Introduction

A Brief Overview of the Science Behind Climate-Change-Induced Rising Sea Levels

Small Island States, the Rising Seas, and the International Community

The Rising Seas and International Law – Open Questions and How to Find Answers

B. What does an Entity Need to Qualify as a State? – or What it Takes to be a State

C. When does a State Cease to Exist? – or What it Takes Not to be a State Anymore

Loss of Territory

Criterion "A Defined Territory" Endangered by the Rising Seas?

Statehood Endangered by the Loss of "A Defined Territory"?

Examples of Rights and Duties Associated with Sovereignty

Sovereign Action on Foreign Territory

a) Cases of Interventionist Actions on Foreign Territory

b) Cases of Tolerated Actions on Foreign Territory

c) Limitations on Action on Foreign Territory as a Consequence

Other Forms of Sovereignty

Conclusion

Examples of "Statehood" without Territory

Non-Territorial Unions

Sovereign Subjects of International Law without Territory

States that Temporarily Lost their Territory

Virtual States

Conclusion

States’ Considerations with Regard to Potential Loss of Territory

Conclusion

Loss of Population

Concluding Thoughts on What it Takes Not to be a State Anymore

D. What it Means to be a State – the Emergence of the Modern State and its Significance Today

Rights of a Modern State

Challenges for the Contemporary Concept of a State

Humanization – the Increasing Importance of the Individual

Globalization – the Decreasing Importance of Territory?

Concluding Thoughts on What it Means to be a State

E. What it Means Not to be a State Anymore – the Consequences of the Loss of Statehood for the State’s Population and the International Community

Loss of Statehood and its Effects on the Respective Populations - Individual and Collective Dimension

Nationality and Why Having a State is (Still) Important for the Protection of Human Rights

Emerging Infringements on the Human Rights of (Indigenous) Peoples from Small Island States due to Rising Sea Levels

Collective Dimension of Human Rights Infringements due to Climate Change

Conclusion

Loss of Statehood - Triggering a Responsibility of the International Community?

Human Rights Approach

Responsibility that Comes with Solidarity

Responsibility to Protect

Causal Responsibility

Responsibility of the One Able to Respond

Conclusion

Concluding Thoughts on What it Means Not to be a State Anymore

F. Closing Remarks