Original scientific paper

Budislav Vukas

Abstract

According to paragraph 2, article 21 of the Peace Treaty with Italy, Italian sovreignty over the Trieste region ceased when this treaty come into force; on September 15, 1947. Italian loss of sovreignty was not conditional to the formation of the Free Territory of Trieste (FTT). Although the FTT was never constituted in accordance with its Permanent Statute, the author is nevertheless of the opinion that it existed as a separate subject of international law from 1947 to 1954. The Peace Treaty also provided for a military administration, albeit only as a provisional regime. For seven years the FTT was independent of both Italy and Yugoslavia, was under the supervision of the United Nations Security Council, concluded International treaties, and was a member of various International organizations - all basic characteristics of its existence according to the Permanent Statute.
Faced with the impossibility of affecting the formation of the FTT in accordance with the Peace Treaty, Italy, Yugoslavia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, terminated the FTT in their Memorandum of Understanding which was concluded on October 5, 1954. In so doing they did not infringe on the rights of the other signatories to the Peace Treaty, as their sole interest with regard to Trieste remained protected; the Memorandum enjoined Italy to carry out the Peace Treaty's provisions with regard to the Free Port of Trieste.
The Memorandum is written proof of an orally concluded agreement among the four states. Like every other treaty, it creates rights and obligations for the parties on the basis of International law. The primary consequence of the Memorandum was the division of the FTT between Italy and Yugoslavia. Control over the areas of the FTT taken over by the two states is referred to in the Memorandum as "civil administration", but in meaning it can be equated with sovreignty. There is no supervision, nor any type of limitation over the Yugoslav and Italian administrations. The impossibility of any kind of change in conditions agreed to in the Memorandum derives not only from its own provisions, the completely legal and de facto integration of the former parts of the FTT into the two neighboring states, and statements by the great powers along with the Memorandum, but from basic principles of international law concerning the inviolability of the borders and territorial integrity of states.

Keywords

Hrčak ID:

216339

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/216339

Publication date:

15.4.1975.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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