MINELRES: New Doctoral Thesis: Legal Status of Minorities in International Public Law

[MINELRES moderator]

Original sender: Sophie Albert <albert@univ-paris1.fr>


Madam/Sir,

I am very pleased to inform you that I successfully presented my PhD
thesis on the following subject:

LA CONDITION DES MINORITES EN DROIT INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC
(The Legal Status of Minorities in International Public Law)

on January 10th, 2003, at Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne University, cum
laudes.

The jury was composed of 
Professor Brigitte STERN (Universite Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne -
Professor STERN is my Director of Research)
Professor Asbjorn EIDE (University of Oslo and Chairman of the UN
Working Group on Minority Rights) 
Professor Sandra SZUREK (Universite de Rennes) 
Professor Jean-Denis MOUTON (Universite de Nancy)
et Professor Yves DAUDET (Universite Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne).

Summary:
Since a decade, a lot of legal instruments and documents on ethnic or
national, religious and linguistic minorities have been adopted, some
have been enforced and others have acquired a particular significance in
the international community. Therefore, one can consider the actual
issue of the legal status of minorities in international law: What is
their position in this new legal structure? The answer to this question
is divided in two parts. Part I deals with the possibility for
minorities to be endowed with an international legal personality. This
possibility is theoretical and very seldom confirmed by practice. Part
II explains through the analysis of the legal regime of minorities,
their position as legal object of law, deprived of rights and
competence, but well protected by the law. Minorities enjoy thus a
privileged position in international law, as particularly protected
objects of law situated in a network of dense relation between States
and international organisations.

I would be happy to give any further information on my work to who might
be interested in.

Yours sincerely

Dr. Sophie ALBERT