The Right to Determine One’s Own Future in the Judicial System of the International Court of Justice

The concept of the right to determine one‟s own future in international law has evolved since the 1950s; especially in relation to the right of sovereignty, territorial integrity, separation, independence and autonomy; and this evolution is still in effect. This study examines the evolution of the concept of the right to determine one‟s own future according to the judicial system of the International Court of Justice, including such cases like the colonization of South West Africa (present Namibia) (1949-1971), West Africa (1975), East Timor (1995), the construction of the retaining wall in occupied Palestine (2004) and the Declaration of Kosovo‟s Independence (2010). There has been a change in the meaning of the right to determine one‟s own future so that today the mere ability to accelerate the processes of decolonization refers to recognizing the right of the inhabitants of non-autonomous territories to be independent, the possibility of declaring unilateral independence and separation under certain conditions, holding a free and genuine referendum to gain this right, and identifying the commitment of third-party governments. However, the judges of the International Court of Justice have not yet taken advantage of the available opportunities to clarify the idea of determination of one‟s own future, given a definition of people (ethnicities) and the conditions which a government should have delineate the commitment of third-party governments and the position of the international law on unilateral declaration of independence and separation.