Characteristics of the Referendum Process for Decision-Making on Self-Determination: The Case of the Donetskaya and Luganskaya People’s Republics, Khersonskaya and Zaporozhskaya Oblasts

The principle of self-determination has occupied a central place in the international legal agenda of the 20th century, decisively influencing the restructuring of geopolitical space and the formation of the contemporary global order. Post-decolonisation examples of self-determination, characterised by ad hoc situations, have thus confronted the competing principle of the territorial integrity of states, enhancing the relevance of the problem concerning the conditions and forms in which peoples may exercise their right to self-determination. Alongside the bases for self-determination through secession, the form and procedure of its implementation, as well as the consequences associated with the decision on self-determination, are of significant importance. Legal doctrine lacks a clear understanding of the forms in which the right to self-determination may be realised. In practice, the procedures for implementing secession are also heterogeneous, and it does not always occur as a result of the direct expression of will by the self-determining people. However, a referendum can be regarded as one of the most authoritative confirmations of the act of self-determination due to its inherent democratic principles, which directly embody the will of the people determining their own destiny, and with which the international community must comply based on established principles. In this context, the referendums conducted in September 2022 in the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, as well as in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, described by the authors in the article, present a particular academic interest.