Maps of Ephemeral Empires: The ICJ and the Macedonian Name Dispute

Abstract

This article reviews the ICJ judgment on the Application of the Interim Accord of 13 September 1995 (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia v. Greece). It argues that despite the formal separation between the name dispute and the object of the legal dispute before the ICJ, the Court’s judgement can in fact be construed as an intervention in the name dispute. As such, it was perhaps at the limits of the Court’s jurisdiction under the terms of Article 21(2) of the Interim Accord. However, irrespective of the jurisdictional question, the judgment might perform a useful function towards the long-awaited final resolution of the name dispute.

Keywords: Macedonia, Greece, Interim Accord, International Court of Justice, Statehood, Self-determination, Jurisdiction