The Agreement on Succession Issues of the Former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is an

international agreement A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

on shared state succession of the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

reached among its former constituents republics following the breakup of the country in early 1990's. The agreement was reached in 2001, after the end of

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...

and protracted negotiations facilitated by international community, that there are five sovereign equal successor states of the SFR Yugoslavia (

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia – today

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

— and the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

– today

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

). It entered into force on 2 June 2004 when the last successor state (Croatia) ratified it. Contrary to some other cases in which only one country would act as a sole legal successor state (for example

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

in case of

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

), multiple new states participated in state succession of SFR Yugoslavia with neither one of them therefore continuing in full international legal personality of the previous state or inheriting automatically memberships in multilateral institutions or treaties. The agreement was signed as an umbrella agreement which included annexes on diplomatic and consular properties, financial assets and liabilities, archives, pensions, other rights, interests and liabilities as well as private properties and acquired rights. As of 2021 daily implementation of the Agreement remains only partial with significant differences in each annex and with particular challenges in restitution of cross-state immovable property rights for private companies and individuals (Annex G) particularly pronounced in restitution of private property rights in Croatia.

Background

While

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and FYR Macedonia interpreted the breakup of Yugoslavia as a definite replacement of the earlier Yugoslav socialist federation with new sovereign equal successor states, newly established

FR Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yug ...

( Serbia and Montenegro) claimed that it is sole legal successor entitled to the assets as well as automatic memberships in international organisations and agreements of SFR Yugoslavia.

Arbitration Commission of the Peace Conference on Yugoslavia The Arbitration Commission of the Conference on Yugoslavia (commonly known as Badinter Arbitration Committee) was an arbitration body set up by the Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community (EEC) on 27 August 1991 to provide the confer ...

was established on 27 August 1991 providing a formal negotiating platform for the Yugoslav republics with the Commission declaring on 29 November 1991 that SFR Yugoslavia was in the process of a dissolution opening the doors for recognition of new states. On 12 February 1992

and

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

agreed to reconstitute their federation and on 27 April 1992 declared the formation the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as the direct continuing state with full legal personality of the former SFR Yugoslavia. This interpretation was rejected by the

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

and the United States as well as any subsequent succession claims by subnational entities ( Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina,

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is locat ...

Republic of Serbian Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sh, Република Српска Крајина, italics=no / or РСК / ''RSK'', ), known as the Serbian Krajina ( / ) or simply Krajina, was a self-proclaimed Serb proto-state, ...

). On 22 November 1995

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

adopted United Nations Security Council Resolution 1022 welcoming the efforts to reach consensual agreement on state succession that will enable transfer of assets to the new states.

References

{{Foreign relations of Yugoslavia Treaties of Croatia Treaties of Slovenia Treaties of Serbia Treaties of Serbia and Montenegro Treaties of Bosnia and Herzegovina Treaties of North Macedonia Breakup of Yugoslavia Successor states Treaties entered into force in 2004 Treaties concluded in 2001 2001 in Austria Bosnia and Herzegovina–Serbia relations Croatia–Serbia relations North Macedonia–Serbia relations Serbia–Slovenia relations Bosnia and Herzegovina–Croatia relations Bosnia and Herzegovina–Slovenia relations Bosnia and Herzegovina–North Macedonia relations Croatia–Slovenia relations North Macedonia–Slovenia relations Croatia–North Macedonia relations

Background

See also

References