The Caucasus region, situated on a natural isthmus between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, has long been a border zone and a melting pot for a diverse range of cultures and peoples. As the intersection between Europe and Asia, and also - tween Russia and the Ottoman and Persian Empires, it has featured in the strategic plans of numerous great powers over the centuries. Given its abundance of natural resources, the ready-made raw material transport routes to Europe and its enduring position on the edge of Russia, nothing has changed to the present day. The tremendous development opportunities of the Caucasian region are being tarnished by unresolved territorial conflicts that put a continual and regionally balanced growth, sustained democratisation and long-term stability at risk. These conflicts, which all erupted with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, include the separatist movements in Abkhazia, Chechnya, Nagorno-Karabakh and South - setia. The war over South Ossetia, which erupted between Russia and Georgia in August 2008, spelt out the explosive potential still inherent in these conflicts.
Dr. Heiko Krüger is an attorney at law and commentator on international and European legal affairs in Berlin, Germany. His research interests include secession conflicts, conflict resolution, the conduct of states and the implications of such action. Dr. Krüger is particularly concerned with secession conflicts in the Caucasus region and the Kosovo case. After obtaining his doctorate in law, he worked as a legal clerk at the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Scientific Department of the German Parliament. He has served as a member of the Ethics Committee of the State of Berlin since 2006. This treatise is primarily concerned with the legal aspects of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Current developments make it clear that the juristic aspects of secession conflicts are successively becoming blurred. Also, their significance is being superseded within the framework of conflict resolution attempts. The controversial recognition of Kosovo by several states in 2008 as well as the equally questionable recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia by Russia are merely two aspects. The aim of this treatise is therefore to focus more strongly on the legal positions, and in particular to underline the importance of principles of international law in connection with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The analysis concentrates on two aspects of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. On the one hand the legitimacy or illegitimacy of the secession of Nagorno-Karabakh is scrutinised in accordance with Soviet law and international law. In this respect, the current developments in the cases of Kosovo, Abkhazia and South Ossetia are also taken into account. On the other hand, insight is provided into how the conduct of the Republic of Armenia is to be assessed from an international law perspective.
