Editing Self-determination (section)

=== Constitutional law ===

Most [[sovereign state]]s do not recognize the right to self-determination through secession in their constitutions. Many expressly forbid it. However, there are several existing models of self-determination through greater autonomy and through secession.<ref name="Kreptul">Andrei Kreptul, [https://mises.org/journals/jls/17_4/17_4_3.pdf The Constitutional Right of Secession in Political Theory and History], [[Journal of Libertarian Studies]], [[Ludwig von Mises Institute]], Volume 17, no. 4 (Fall 2003), pp. 39 – 100.</ref>

In liberal constitutional democracies the principle of [[majority rule]] has dictated whether a minority can secede. In the United States [[Abraham Lincoln]] acknowledged that secession might be possible through [[List of amendments to the United States Constitution|amending]] the [[United States Constitution]]. The [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] in ''[[Texas v. White]]'' held secession could occur "through revolution, or through consent of the States."<ref>Aleksandar Pavković, Peter Radan, [https://books.google.com/books?id=-IjHbPvp1W0C Creating New States: Theory and Practice of Secession], p. 222, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2007.</ref><ref>[https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0074_0700_ZO.html ''Texas v. White''], 74 U.S. 700 (1868) at [[Cornell University Law School]] Supreme Court collection.</ref> The [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British Parliament]] in 1933 held that [[Western Australia]] only could secede from Australia upon vote of a majority of the country as a whole; the previous two-thirds majority vote for secession via referendum in Western Australia was insufficient.<ref name="Pavkovic" />

The [[Communist Party of China|Chinese Communist Party]] followed the Soviet Union in including the right of secession in its 1931 constitution in order to entice ethnic nationalities and Tibet into joining. However, the Party eliminated the right to secession in later years and had anti-secession clause written into the Constitution before and after the founding the People's Republic of China. The 1947 Constitution of the [[Burma|Union of Burma]] contained an express state right to secede from the union under a number of procedural conditions. It was eliminated in the 1974 constitution of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma (officially the "Union of Myanmar"). Burma still allows "local autonomy under central leadership".<ref name="Kreptul" />

As of 1996 the [[Constitution of Austria|constitutions of Austria]], [[Constitutions of Ethiopia|Ethiopia]], [[Constitution of France|France]], and [[Constitution of Saint Kitts and Nevis|Saint Kitts and Nevis]] have express or implied rights to secession. Switzerland allows for the secession from current and the creation of new [[Cantons of Switzerland|cantons]]. In the case of proposed [[Quebec]] separation from Canada the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] in 1998 ruled that only both a clear majority of the province and a [[constitutional amendment]] confirmed by all participants in the Canadian federation could allow secession.<ref name="Kreptul" />

The 2003 draft of the [[Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe|European Union Constitution]] allowed for the voluntary withdrawal of member states from the union, although the State which wanted to leave could not be involved in the vote deciding whether or not they can leave the Union.<ref name="Kreptul" /> There was much discussion about such self-determination by minorities<ref>Xenophon Contiades, [http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/AUD/s6.htm Sixth Scholarly Panel: Cultural Identity in the New Europe], 1st Global Conference on Federalism and the Union of European Democracies, March 2004. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105214649/http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/AUD/s6.htm |date=January 5, 2009 }}</ref> before the final document underwent the unsuccessful ratification process in 2005.

As a result of the successful [[2003 Liechtenstein constitutional referendum|constitutional referendum]] held in 2003, every municipality in the [[Liechtenstein|Principality of Liechtenstein]] has the right to secede from the Principality by a vote of a majority of the citizens residing in this municipality.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fuerstenhaus.li/en/monarchy/the-reform-of-the-constitution-in-2003/|title=The Reform of the Constitution in 2003|website=fuerstenhaus.li|access-date=2017-01-02|archive-date=2017-01-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102172008/https://www.fuerstenhaus.li/en/monarchy/the-reform-of-the-constitution-in-2003/|url-status=dead}}</ref>