The Budapest Memorandum – is it binding or non-binding instrument?

Authors

  • Agata Kleczkowska Instytut Nauk Prawnych Polskiej Akademii Nauk, Zakład Prawa Międzynarodowego Publicznego

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/2300-1690.20.09

Keywords:

Ukraine, Russia, nuclear weapons, aggression, international agreement

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyze the Memorandum on security assurances in connection with Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons signed in 1994 by Ukraine, Russia, the USA and the United Kingdom, also called the Budapest Memorandum. The purpose of the instrument was to assure Ukraine about its safety, in exchange for the transfer of nuclear weapons located on Ukrainian soil. After the Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2014, the Memorandum became one of the most frequently invoked instruments violated by Russia. The article answers the question about the status of the Memorandum – whether it is a binding legal act or nonbinding instrument; it also indicates the consequences of such a conclusion.

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Author Biography

  • Agata Kleczkowska, Instytut Nauk Prawnych Polskiej Akademii Nauk, Zakład Prawa Międzynarodowego Publicznego

    Agata Kleczkowska – adiunkt w Zakładzie Prawa Międzynarodowego Publicznego w Instytucie Nauk Prawnych PAN. Jej zainteresowania naukowe koncentrują się wokół zagadnień groźby i użycia siły, zagrożeń hybrydowych, retorsji, państwowości i uznania międzynarodowego. Kierowała lub uczestniczyła w projektach badawczych dotyczących podmiotów nieuznawanych w prawie międzynarodowym, regulacji użycia siły w międzynarodowym prawie zwyczajowym oraz statusu zbrojnych aktorów niepaństwowych. Od maja 2020 r. realizuje projekt badawczy w konkursie OPUS NCN dotyczący retorsji w prawie międzynarodowym. Autorka monografii naukowej Użycie siły zbrojnej między państwami w świetle międzynarodowego prawa zwyczajowego (Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar 2018).

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Published

2021-01-01

Issue

No. 20 (2021)

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Articles

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How to Cite

Kleczkowska, Agata. 2021. “The Budapest Memorandum – Is It Binding or Non-Binding Instrument?”. Władza Sądzenia, no. 20 (January): 144-65. https://doi.org/10.18778/2300-1690.20.09.