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The New State Borders of the Republic of Belarus
Дата публикации: 29 апреля 2014
Публикатор: БЦБ LIBRARY.BY (номер депонирования: BY-1398769047)
Рубрика: БЕЛАРУСЬ
Источник: (c) Igor Zalomai, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, CIS and CEE Directorate Alexei Shakhnovich, Ambassador at Large, MFA, Republic of Belarus
After the Republic of Belarus became a sovereign state, the settlement of legal status of state borders has become one of important problems. The emergence of new independent states (NIS) created the need for setting up state borders of the Republic of Belarus with the neighbouring former Soviet republics.
Issues of international legal settlement of state border issues have always been referred to as the most complicated and sharp. The setting up of state borders is directly linked with the implementation by state of such fundamental foreign policy principles as peaceful coexistence, respect for sovereignty of nations, territorial integrity of states, and peaceful settlement of international disputes. Territorial disputes between contiguous states have often been a pretext for armed conflicts which sometimes were evolving into devastating wars. The consequences of such wars further aggravated relations between nations and states for a long time.
Three Stages of International Legal Settlement of State Border Issues
International legal settlement of state border issues includes three stages:
1) setting up a state border, or delimitation and demarcation,
2) establishing the regime of state border,
3) creation of international legal basis for regulating relations in border areas and on the routes of international communications in adjacent areas.
The progress in international legal settlement of state border issues can be judged upon the progress in reaching objectives of each of these three stages.
As a rule, the work on these three directions is conducted in parallel. Negotiations on the setting up of state borders, due to their particular complexity, are accompanied by the settlement of certain issues related to the border regime. At the same time, agreements on establishing points of entry on the customs border, on cooperation of border authorities, and some others are being negotiated.
The setting up of state border is a starting point for international legal settlement of state border issues. According to international practice this process has two phases. During the first phase, called delimitation, neighbouring states negotiate location of the line of state border, its description, and draw the border line on the map. Inter-state agreement on the border, description of the border and respective map are the final documents of delimitation. Border description and the map are annexes to the border treaty, being these annexes integral part of such a treaty. The description of the border can be incorporated in the border treaty as a separate article.
Documents related to the delimitation of state border serve as a legal basis for the second phase of the setting up state borders, called demarcation.
Demarcation means drawing the line of state border on the ground and marking this line with special border signs. Whilst delimitation of the border is conducted through negotiations of delegations or commissions from each of the parties involved, demarcation is carried out on the ground by a joint demarcation commission formed on the basis of a special article of the border treaty.
Demarcation includes topographic, geodesic and aerial photography works, topographic large-scale mapping of the border areas, mounting border signs, defining their coordinates, other works on the ground, and making a protocol- description on the demarcation line of the border and other final documents. Demarcation documents come into force after they are approved by governments of each party concerned.
As a rule, demarcation is carried out immediately after the completion of delimitation of the border. However, there have been cases when delimited border was not demarcated at all, or demarcated after delimitation following a long time after delimitation.
The process of setting up state borders is over after the ratification of the border treaty and approval of demarcation documents by governments of the concerned states.
The regime of state border is established by acts of the domestic legislation and international agreements.
The completeness of the third stage-creation of international legal basis for regulating relations in border areas and on the routes of international communications in adjacent areas-depends upon historical traditions, good will, and the level of trust and good neighbourly relations between contiguous states.
These relations are regarded as fully settled down after the following agreements are concluded:
inter-government agreement on the simplified procedure of border crossing by residents of border areas,
inter-government or inter-agency agreement or a protocol on cooperation in matters relating to border issues,
interagency agreement on extradiction of border violators,
agreement between ministries of interior on cooperation in legal issues,
agreement on the maintaining and development of economic, cultural and other ties in border areas,
customs agreements,
agreement on exchange visits of citizens, etc.
International legal settlement of state border issues is one of the indicators showing how successfully foreign policy principles are implemented in relations with neighbouring states and how effectively border policy is carried out by the state.
Legal Settlement of State Border Issues in the Republic of Belarus
The Republic of Belarus is a landlocked country. Accordingly, the setting up of state borders means setting up of land borders with the neighbouring states. Land borders are set up in accordance with agreements between contiguous states, and are marked on the ground according to these agreements.
Until recently the administrative border of the Republic of Belarus, established with Ukraine in 1924, 1926 and in 1940, and with Lithuania and Latvia-in 1940, has played the role of the state border. The administrative border defined frontiers of the Republic of Belarus with the contiguous states rather inaccurately, especially on the ground. Part of the former state border between the USSR and Poland is the only exception. Many settlements, used as landmarks for administrative border in 1924-40 and described in administrative documents, have either ceased to exist or acquired new configuration. This led to certain difficulties in the work on border delimitation with the new independent states.
In accordance with the main law of most countries, the state, represented by its supreme bodies, has a prerogative in establising borders. In Belarus state borders can be altered only by consent of the highest legislative body of the Republic of Belarus. Consent is granted through mandatory ratification of any border agreement, and through the adoption of legal acts which provide for establishment of borders in areas where these have not yet been established by the appropriate agreement or treaty.
The First Phase
In October 1992, a governmental delegation entitled to negotiate and organise works on delimitation and demarcation of state borders with Lithuania and Latvia was formed by a Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Belarus. Similarly, in December 1992, another governmental delegation was formed to hold negotiations on delimitation of Belarusian-Ukrainian border. The delegations included representatives from nine ministries and agencies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Geodesy and Mapping and others, and representatives from the regions bordering on the neighbouring states.
The above decrees defined objectives and missions of delegations for negotiations with the neighbouring states. The instructions for the delegations were to follow the line of actual use of land when negotiating the border line, and, if arguments arise, to make decisions towards the settlement on a mutually acceptable basis.
Long negotiations on delimitation of the borders-the first step in setting up a state border-resulted in the signing of treaties on the setting up of state borders of the Republic of Belarus with the Latvian Republic, the Lithuanian Republic, and Ukraine.
Due to joint efforts by the Belarusian delegations and those from Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine at the negotiations on the delimitation of state border, agreed delimitation maps and a draft description of the line of state border have been prepared. Then, a commission drafted texts of the treaties on state border of the Republic of Belarus with Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine. On 21 February 1994, the treaty on the state border with the Latvian Republic and, on 6 February 1995, the treaty on the state border with the Lithuanian Republic were signed.
A particular feature of the delimitation of state border on the Belarusian side was the fact that it was carried out by different commissions. In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed to establish a single commission of the Republic of Belarus on delimitation and demarcation of state borders. Such a commission is the most effective body, as this makes it possible to solve consistently and in integrity the problems regarding delimitation and demarcation of state borders, and the use of border infrastructure.
According to the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the commission of the Republic of Belarus on delimitation and demarcation of state borders was to include representatives from the Main Directorate of Border Troops, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Customs Committee, the Committee of State Security, the Ministry of Architecture and Construction, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Ministry of Forestry, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
On 1 August 1996, by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus, a Commission of the Republic of Belarus on Delimitation and Demarcation of State Borders was established. The Commission was given authority to conduct negotiations on delimitation and demarcation of the state borders of the Republic of Belarus with the respective bodies from the Latvian Republic, Lithuanian Republic, and Ukraine. Through joint efforts with the Ukrainian delegation, the re-established Commission continued its work aimed at delimitation of the state border with Ukraine and drafted a Treaty on the State Border. On 12 May 1997, the treaty was signed during the official visit of Alexander Lukashenko, the President of the Republic of Belarus, to Kyiv.
The Second Phase
The initial phase of the setting up state borders with the neighbouring new independent states was completed after the treaties on state borders with Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine had been signed. In October 1996, by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, the Belarusian part of the joint commission on demarcation of the state border between the Republic of Belarus and the Lithuanian Republic was set up with the mission of implementing the treaty on the state border between the two states. In March 1997, the same decision was taken with regard to the treaty on the state border with Latvia.
Joint commissions have got instructions to draft legal documents on demarcation of the state border which would be the basis for a project on demarcation of the state border. Demarcation maps, description of the state border and a number of other documents are the final papers produced by joint commission. These documents will be submitted to governments for approval and wil come into force on the day of exchange of notes on the completion of the respective domestic procedures.
* * *
Now, most advanced is the process of legal settlement of the state border issues in relations with Lithuania and Latvia. The main factor determining the prospects for this process is financing available in the concerned states. In April 1997, the Republic of Belarus submitted application to the TACIS programme with a request to provide assistance in setting up state borders with the Baltic states. The conclusion of the preliminary consideration of this request was the proposal to allocate about 3m ECU to Belarus for demarcation and organization of its border with Lithuania and Latvia.
The success of legal settlement of state border issues will be dependent, first of all, on funds the concerned states would be able to allocate for the purpose.
Issues of international legal settlement of state border issues have always been referred to as the most complicated and sharp. The setting up of state borders is directly linked with the implementation by state of such fundamental foreign policy principles as peaceful coexistence, respect for sovereignty of nations, territorial integrity of states, and peaceful settlement of international disputes. Territorial disputes between contiguous states have often been a pretext for armed conflicts which sometimes were evolving into devastating wars. The consequences of such wars further aggravated relations between nations and states for a long time.
Three Stages of International Legal Settlement of State Border Issues
International legal settlement of state border issues includes three stages:
1) setting up a state border, or delimitation and demarcation,
2) establishing the regime of state border,
3) creation of international legal basis for regulating relations in border areas and on the routes of international communications in adjacent areas.
The progress in international legal settlement of state border issues can be judged upon the progress in reaching objectives of each of these three stages.
As a rule, the work on these three directions is conducted in parallel. Negotiations on the setting up of state borders, due to their particular complexity, are accompanied by the settlement of certain issues related to the border regime. At the same time, agreements on establishing points of entry on the customs border, on cooperation of border authorities, and some others are being negotiated.
The setting up of state border is a starting point for international legal settlement of state border issues. According to international practice this process has two phases. During the first phase, called delimitation, neighbouring states negotiate location of the line of state border, its description, and draw the border line on the map. Inter-state agreement on the border, description of the border and respective map are the final documents of delimitation. Border description and the map are annexes to the border treaty, being these annexes integral part of such a treaty. The description of the border can be incorporated in the border treaty as a separate article.
Documents related to the delimitation of state border serve as a legal basis for the second phase of the setting up state borders, called demarcation.
Demarcation means drawing the line of state border on the ground and marking this line with special border signs. Whilst delimitation of the border is conducted through negotiations of delegations or commissions from each of the parties involved, demarcation is carried out on the ground by a joint demarcation commission formed on the basis of a special article of the border treaty.
Demarcation includes topographic, geodesic and aerial photography works, topographic large-scale mapping of the border areas, mounting border signs, defining their coordinates, other works on the ground, and making a protocol- description on the demarcation line of the border and other final documents. Demarcation documents come into force after they are approved by governments of each party concerned.
As a rule, demarcation is carried out immediately after the completion of delimitation of the border. However, there have been cases when delimited border was not demarcated at all, or demarcated after delimitation following a long time after delimitation.
The process of setting up state borders is over after the ratification of the border treaty and approval of demarcation documents by governments of the concerned states.
The regime of state border is established by acts of the domestic legislation and international agreements.
The completeness of the third stage-creation of international legal basis for regulating relations in border areas and on the routes of international communications in adjacent areas-depends upon historical traditions, good will, and the level of trust and good neighbourly relations between contiguous states.
These relations are regarded as fully settled down after the following agreements are concluded:
inter-government agreement on the simplified procedure of border crossing by residents of border areas,
inter-government or inter-agency agreement or a protocol on cooperation in matters relating to border issues,
interagency agreement on extradiction of border violators,
agreement between ministries of interior on cooperation in legal issues,
agreement on the maintaining and development of economic, cultural and other ties in border areas,
customs agreements,
agreement on exchange visits of citizens, etc.
International legal settlement of state border issues is one of the indicators showing how successfully foreign policy principles are implemented in relations with neighbouring states and how effectively border policy is carried out by the state.
Legal Settlement of State Border Issues in the Republic of Belarus
The Republic of Belarus is a landlocked country. Accordingly, the setting up of state borders means setting up of land borders with the neighbouring states. Land borders are set up in accordance with agreements between contiguous states, and are marked on the ground according to these agreements.
Until recently the administrative border of the Republic of Belarus, established with Ukraine in 1924, 1926 and in 1940, and with Lithuania and Latvia-in 1940, has played the role of the state border. The administrative border defined frontiers of the Republic of Belarus with the contiguous states rather inaccurately, especially on the ground. Part of the former state border between the USSR and Poland is the only exception. Many settlements, used as landmarks for administrative border in 1924-40 and described in administrative documents, have either ceased to exist or acquired new configuration. This led to certain difficulties in the work on border delimitation with the new independent states.
In accordance with the main law of most countries, the state, represented by its supreme bodies, has a prerogative in establising borders. In Belarus state borders can be altered only by consent of the highest legislative body of the Republic of Belarus. Consent is granted through mandatory ratification of any border agreement, and through the adoption of legal acts which provide for establishment of borders in areas where these have not yet been established by the appropriate agreement or treaty.
The First Phase
In October 1992, a governmental delegation entitled to negotiate and organise works on delimitation and demarcation of state borders with Lithuania and Latvia was formed by a Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Belarus. Similarly, in December 1992, another governmental delegation was formed to hold negotiations on delimitation of Belarusian-Ukrainian border. The delegations included representatives from nine ministries and agencies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Geodesy and Mapping and others, and representatives from the regions bordering on the neighbouring states.
The above decrees defined objectives and missions of delegations for negotiations with the neighbouring states. The instructions for the delegations were to follow the line of actual use of land when negotiating the border line, and, if arguments arise, to make decisions towards the settlement on a mutually acceptable basis.
Long negotiations on delimitation of the borders-the first step in setting up a state border-resulted in the signing of treaties on the setting up of state borders of the Republic of Belarus with the Latvian Republic, the Lithuanian Republic, and Ukraine.
Due to joint efforts by the Belarusian delegations and those from Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine at the negotiations on the delimitation of state border, agreed delimitation maps and a draft description of the line of state border have been prepared. Then, a commission drafted texts of the treaties on state border of the Republic of Belarus with Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine. On 21 February 1994, the treaty on the state border with the Latvian Republic and, on 6 February 1995, the treaty on the state border with the Lithuanian Republic were signed.
A particular feature of the delimitation of state border on the Belarusian side was the fact that it was carried out by different commissions. In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed to establish a single commission of the Republic of Belarus on delimitation and demarcation of state borders. Such a commission is the most effective body, as this makes it possible to solve consistently and in integrity the problems regarding delimitation and demarcation of state borders, and the use of border infrastructure.
According to the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the commission of the Republic of Belarus on delimitation and demarcation of state borders was to include representatives from the Main Directorate of Border Troops, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Customs Committee, the Committee of State Security, the Ministry of Architecture and Construction, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Ministry of Forestry, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
On 1 August 1996, by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus, a Commission of the Republic of Belarus on Delimitation and Demarcation of State Borders was established. The Commission was given authority to conduct negotiations on delimitation and demarcation of the state borders of the Republic of Belarus with the respective bodies from the Latvian Republic, Lithuanian Republic, and Ukraine. Through joint efforts with the Ukrainian delegation, the re-established Commission continued its work aimed at delimitation of the state border with Ukraine and drafted a Treaty on the State Border. On 12 May 1997, the treaty was signed during the official visit of Alexander Lukashenko, the President of the Republic of Belarus, to Kyiv.
The Second Phase
The initial phase of the setting up state borders with the neighbouring new independent states was completed after the treaties on state borders with Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine had been signed. In October 1996, by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, the Belarusian part of the joint commission on demarcation of the state border between the Republic of Belarus and the Lithuanian Republic was set up with the mission of implementing the treaty on the state border between the two states. In March 1997, the same decision was taken with regard to the treaty on the state border with Latvia.
Joint commissions have got instructions to draft legal documents on demarcation of the state border which would be the basis for a project on demarcation of the state border. Demarcation maps, description of the state border and a number of other documents are the final papers produced by joint commission. These documents will be submitted to governments for approval and wil come into force on the day of exchange of notes on the completion of the respective domestic procedures.
* * *
Now, most advanced is the process of legal settlement of the state border issues in relations with Lithuania and Latvia. The main factor determining the prospects for this process is financing available in the concerned states. In April 1997, the Republic of Belarus submitted application to the TACIS programme with a request to provide assistance in setting up state borders with the Baltic states. The conclusion of the preliminary consideration of this request was the proposal to allocate about 3m ECU to Belarus for demarcation and organization of its border with Lithuania and Latvia.
The success of legal settlement of state border issues will be dependent, first of all, on funds the concerned states would be able to allocate for the purpose.
Опубликовано 29 апреля 2014 года
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