State Continuity, Self-Determination and Sea-Level Rise

Abstract This article contends that anthropogenic sea-level rise seriously undermines the exercise of self-determination by peoples living in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Moreover, it argues that the effects of this would be severely exacerbated if the international community were to reject the possibility of statehood enduring notwithstanding total submergence, the complete loss of inhabitable land or the mass exodus of extant populations. In support of the claims made by several SIDS themselves, this article provides an analysis focused upon the relationship between the law of State continuity, on the one hand, and the peremptory norm of self-determination on the other. Ultimately, this analysis advances an understanding of State continuity and sea-level rise that favours existential resilience, making any future losses of statehood contingent upon voluntary dissolution by affected States.