THE INTERNATIONAL LEGAL STATUS OF THE FREE TERRITORY OF TRIESTE (1946–1954)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/cuj-2024-1-3Keywords:
Free territory of Trieste, quasi-states, territory in international law, territorial disputes, jurisdictionAbstract
The article examines the international legal status of the Free Territory of Trieste – an independent state-like entity that existed from 1946 to 1954. Its creation took place in the context of the post-war redistribution of influence at the beginning of the Cold War. The Free Territory of Trieste was a unique international legal entity created as a temporary solution to territorial disputes between Italy and Yugoslavia after World War II. The article begins with a historical overview of the conditions that led to the creation of the Free Territory of Trieste, with an emphasis on the impact of the Paris Peace Conference and the role of the great powers in this process. The author analyzes the international agreements and treaties that established the status of Trieste, in particular, the Peace Treaty with Italy in 1947, which formally established the Free Territory of Trieste as an independent state under the control of the United Nations. The main part of the article is devoted to the analysis of the international legal status of the Free Territory of Trieste and the state. Issues of governance, economic development, and domestic and foreign policy and their effectiveness are considered. The author highlights how changes in the international environment, in particular the beginning of the Cold War, affected the status and fate of Trieste. In the article is studied the reasons that prevent the full realization of the internal and international sovereignty of the Free Territory. The author analyzes how diplomatic efforts and international negotiations contributed to the final settlement of the Trieste problem in 1954 and 1975, when control of the territory was divided between Italy and Yugoslavia.
References
Абрамов М. В. Правовий статус державоподібних утворень. Міжнародні читання присвячені пам’яті професора Імператорського Новоросійського університету П.Є. Казанського: матеріали Міжнародної конференції (м. Одеса, 22-23 жовтня 2010 року). Одеса, 2010. С. 45–47.
Kunz J.L. The Free Territory of Trieste. The Western Political Quarterly. Vol. 1, No. 2. June 1948. Pp. 99–112.
Coloni M., Clegg P. Reflections on the status of the Free Territory of Trieste. Small States & Territories. Vol. 5, No. 1, 2022. Pp. 179–194.
Resolution №16 (1947) of 10 January 1947. United Nations Security Council. URL : https://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?OpenAgent&DS=S/RES/16(1947)&Lang=E (Date requested : 27.11.2023)
Treaty of Peace with Italy, signed at Paris, on 10 February 1947. URL: https://reparations.qub.ac.uk/assets/uploads/m-ust000004-0311.pdf (Date requested : 27.11.2022)
Instrument for the Provisional Regime of the Free Territory of Trieste. URL: http://unscr.com/en/resolutions/doc/16 (Date requested : 27.11.2022)
The Permanent Statute for the Free Territory of Trieste. URL: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-211880/ (Date requested : 27.11.2023)
75th anniversary of the creation of the OEEC. URL: https://www.oecd.org/about/history/oeec/ (Date requested : 16.01.2022)
Fairman C. Asserted Jurisdiction of the Italian Court of Cassation Over the Court of Appeal of the Free Territory of Trieste. The American Journal of International Law, Vol. 45, No. 3. Jul., 1951. Pp. 541–548.
Dimitrijević B.B. Bitka za Trst : 1945.-1954. Despot infinitus, Zagreb, 2014. 272 s.
Балканська субрегіональна підсистема міжнародних відносин: історико-політичний вимір / укладач: О. П. Іваницька. ДонНУ імені Василя Стуса, 2022. 156 с.
Memorandum of understanding between the Governments of Italy, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America and Yugoslavia regarding the Free Territory of Trieste. U.N. Treaty Series. Vol. 235. 1956. Pp. 99–119.
Treaty on the delimitation of the frontier for the part not indicated as such in the Peace Treaty of 10 February 1947 (with annexes, exchanges of letters and final act). Signed at Osimo, Ancona, on 10 November 1975. United Nations Treaty Series Vol. 1466, 1-24848. 1987. Pp. 72–118.
