treaties supporting the norm were devised, such as the 1919 League Covenant,
the 1925 Locarno Pact, the 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact, and the League's approval of the Stimson Doctrine in 1931. 8 Nevertheless, multiple transfers of
territory and arbitrary conquest took place during the interwar period with the
norm proponents being unable or unwilling to impose the norm. The cascade
stage begun with the end of the Second World War and the adoption of Article
2(4) in the UN Charter in June 1945, which provided the formulation of the territorial integrity of states in a territorially defined inter-state system. 9 This
was further reinforced by a series of accords such as the 1960 UN declaration
that supported the territorial integrity of states; the OAU's 1963 charter
provision and 1964 resolution upholding respect for inherited boundaries; and
the 1975 CSCE's Helsinki Final Act which prescribed that boundaries could
only be altered by consent. The internalization phase of the norm runs from
1976 to the present where no major territorial aggrandizement has taken place
while certain events like the First Gulf War only helped to reinforce the norm.
In addition, the International Court of Justice adjudicated several territorial
conflicts basing its decisions on the principle of uti possidetis which originates
in 1820s Latin America and obliges states to respect the boundaries they inherited by the previous governing states. 10 There is a substantial reduction in
the re-distribution of territory by war since the cascade phase of the norm. Prior
to 1945, 80 percent of territorial wars led to territorial changes with the percentage dropping to 30 percent since. 11 Furthermore, as international institutions and multilateral agreements have proliferated , states have to adhere to more obligations which makes the norm stronger. 12 In this manner, in order to
be part of an international community or institution, like the EU, states have
8 Zacher, p. 236. 9 James Summers, ‘Self - determination, Resources and Borders: Introduction to the Special Issue’, International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, 22.4 (2015), 459-466 (p. 460). 10 Zacher, pp. 236-237. 11 Zacher, p. 223. 12 Hensel, Allison and Khanani, p. 127.
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